Kelly Feuer is a name that appears on a viral social media list claiming Donald Trump paid a $1 million settlement in 1989 over the alleged sexual assault of a 12-year-old at Trump Tower. Multiple fact-checking organizations have searched court dockets, legal databases, and news archives and found no evidence that Kelly Feuer exists as an accuser, that any lawsuit was ever filed, or that any such settlement was paid.1Snopes. No Proof Trump Paid Millions in Settlements Over Allegations of Sexually Assaulting Minors
Where the Name Came From
The claim traces to a single article published January 14–15, 2019, on the Wayne Madsen Report, a subscription blog run by Wayne Madsen, a former U.S. Navy lieutenant who worked at the NSA in the 1980s and 1990s. The article alleged Trump had paid roughly $30 million since 1989 to settle “child-sex complaints” and named six purported victims, including Kelly Feuer. Madsen attributed the roster to an unnamed “reputable Republican source” and provided no documents, no court filings, and no other corroboration.1Snopes. No Proof Trump Paid Millions in Settlements Over Allegations of Sexually Assaulting Minors
On January 16, 2019, the Alabama-based blog Legal Schnauzer, run by Roger Shuler, republished the list in full. When readers asked why there were no case numbers, Shuler said he was “a journalist, not a criminal investigator” and was simply repeating what Madsen had published.1Snopes. No Proof Trump Paid Millions in Settlements Over Allegations of Sexually Assaulting Minors From there the roster passed into memes and social posts that resurfaced in 2021, 2024, and 2025. The Feuer entry has always traveled inside that same list, alongside five other names: Michael Parker, Charles Bacon, Rebecca Conway, Maria Olivera, and Kevin Noll. No independent source has ever surfaced for any of them.
What Fact-Checkers Found
Three fact-checking outlets have investigated the list at different points, and each reached the same conclusion.
Lead Stories examined the claims in January 2021. Its researchers searched state legal databases for lawsuits filed against Donald Trump using each of the six names on the list, including Kelly Feuer, and found no matching dockets or preliminary filings.2Lead Stories. No Evidence Donald Trump Settled Multiple Child Rape Cases for Millions of Dollars
PolitiFact rated the claim “False” in July 2024. Its staff searched public records and the Nexis legal database and found nothing connecting any of the listed names to Trump. Standard web searches turned up no credible news reports of the cases either.3PolitiFact. No Proof Donald Trump Made Settlements to 10- to 13-Year-Olds
Snopes published the most recent review in December 2025. After searching court dockets, legal databases, and media archives, Snopes concluded that the list “rests entirely on an unverified list from a blog” and that there is “no credible evidence that any of the six named children exist as accusers, that any such lawsuits were ever filed, or that Trump paid the settlements described in the meme.” White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson called the claims “obviously false.”1Snopes. No Proof Trump Paid Millions in Settlements Over Allegations of Sexually Assaulting Minors
Why the Story Falls Apart
Beyond the absence of records, the list contains internal problems. Some versions of the viral post claim Michael Cohen, Trump’s former personal attorney, helped arrange the settlements. Cohen did not graduate from law school until 1991 and did not join the Trump Organization until 2006.4Britannica. Michael Cohen The Feuer allegation is dated 1989; five of the six alleged incidents fall between 1989 and 1998, before Cohen’s involvement with Trump was possible.3PolitiFact. No Proof Donald Trump Made Settlements to 10- to 13-Year-Olds
Snopes also pointed out that even confidential civil settlements normally leave a public trail. Initial complaints, motions, and docket entries typically remain accessible even when the terms of a resolution are sealed. Nothing of the kind exists for Kelly Feuer or any of the other five names. The list further claimed Trump was diagnosed in court with “Pedophilic Disorder,” yet cited no court, case number, or proceeding.5Snopes. Trump Child Rape Settlements
The Credibility of the Sources
The Wayne Madsen Report is the only original source for the Feuer name. The Poynter Institute has described Madsen as a “conspiracy theorist,” The Daily Beast has called him an “NSA nutjob,” and The Telegraph referred to him as a “fruitloop.” In 2013, The Observer removed an article from its website after it emerged that the piece relied on Madsen as its sole source for claims about secret U.S.-European surveillance deals.6Poynter. Observer Yanks Story About NSA Deal in Europe Based on Wayne Madsen Conspiracy Theory
Legal Schnauzer, the blog that amplified the list, has drawn its own scrutiny. The New York Times has described Roger Shuler’s blog as “polarizing” with “fuzzily sourced” allegations. Shuler spent five months in jail in 2013 after refusing to comply with a court order to remove posts a judge found defamatory.7Business Insider. Roger Shuler Legal Schnauzer Troubles
Not to Be Confused With Documented Cases
The Kelly Feuer claim is often shared alongside references to real cases involving Trump, and the two should not be mixed up. In May 2023, a jury found Trump liable for sexually abusing writer E. Jean Carroll in a department store in the mid-1990s and for defaming her, awarding $5 million in damages. In January 2024, a second jury ordered Trump to pay $83.3 million for continued defamation of Carroll. A federal appeals court upheld both verdicts, and Trump has appealed to the Supreme Court.8NBC News. Appeals Court Upholds E. Jean Carroll’s $83 Million Judgment Against Trump More than a dozen women have publicly accused Trump of unwanted touching, kissing, or assault in incidents spanning the early 1980s to 2013; Trump has denied all such accusations.9PBS NewsHour. Assault Allegations Against Donald Trump Recapped
Those cases have extensive court records, verdicts, and media coverage. The Kelly Feuer allegation has none of that. It exists as a name on a list, on a blog, sourced to an anonymous tip, and it has never been backed by a single document in the six years it has been circulating.