The US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York has officially filed a notice of appearance in Janel Grant’s sexual misconduct case against Vince McMahon, John Laurinaitis, and the WWE. As a result, Ms. Grant was granted a stay in her case pending a non-public investigation. Grant’s attorney, Ann Callis, has also addressed the development in an email obtained by Wrestling Inc.
“Ms. Grant has consented to a request by the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York to stay her case against Mr. McMahon, WWE, and Mr. Laurinaitis, pursuant to a pending non-public investigation. We will cooperate with all appropriate next steps,” said Callis.
“We remain confident the evidence will prove Ms. Grant’s allegations are false and her complaint is nothing more than a fabricated, vindictive narrative from a disgruntled former girlfriend,” Jessica Rosenberg, a partner with Kasowitz Benson Torres LLP, McMahon’s counsel, told Wrestling Inc. when contacted for comment.
Sarah Mortazavi, the Assistant US Attorney who filed the appearance on behalf of the office, was notably honored with her team at the Above and Beyond Awards for her efforts in helping human trafficking victims secure visas to remain in the US in 2020. Human trafficking is also ranked among SDNY’s key priorities on their website and the office was notably involved in the convictions of Ghislaine Maxwell and Lawrence “Grecco” Ray in recent years. As of writing, no criminal cases are shown to have been launched against Vince McMahon – according to SDNY’s online filing system.
WWE had recently joined McMahon and Laurinaitis in a filing to have the lawsuit moved to arbitration. The lawsuit was first filed by Janel Grant in January, alleging that McMahon had sexually exploited her and trafficked her to his associates during her tenure with the company. The original filing included graphic alleged text exchanges from McMahon to Grant. McMahon and his attorneys have continued to deny the allegations vehemently, even after he resigned from his position as Executive Chairman of TKO and WWE.
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