Last night, the Trump campaign released a statement intended to refute claims made by former Apprentice contestant Summer Zervos, who contends that Trump groped her in a hotel in 2007. It was purportedly written by a first cousin of Zervos named John Barry. It reads:

“I am completely shocked and bewildered by my cousin, Summer Zervos, and her press conference today. Ever since she was on The Apprentice she has had nothing but glowing things to say about Mr. Trump. For almost a decade, my cousin would talk about how much she looked up to Mr. Trump and viewed him as an inspiration – a success story she wanted to copy. Summer would also talk about how kind and caring Mr. Trump was on the show, and how he would even visit children in hospitals without telling the press. She has praised the good things he’s done for her life, and in fact she converted her friends and our family to become Trump supporters even though we’ve never been active in politics before. “That was until Summer invited Mr. Trump to her restaurant during the primary and he said no. I think Summer wishes she could still be on reality TV, and in an effort to get that back she’s saying all of these negative things about Mr. Trump. That’s not how she talked about him before. I can only imagine that Summer’s actions today are nothing more than an attempt to regain the spotlight at Mr. Trump’s expense, and I don’t think it reflects well.” – John Barry, Mission Viejo, CA (first cousin of Summer Zervos)

Prominent Trump supporters have pounced on the statement, holding it up as evidence that Zervos is fabricating her story.

Summer Zervos cousin completely debunks her false claims of a assault:https://t.co/GA22k0my9C — Bill Mitchell (@mitchellvii) October 15, 2016

Nothing but false accusations, folks. John Barry, Summer Zervos’ Cousin: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know https://t.co/eSFjVpcn7g — Rep. Steven Smith (@RepStevenSmith) October 15, 2016

But curiously, reporters and TV producers are having a difficult time locating a John Barry in Mission Viejo, California.

Trump: "John Barry" of Mission Viejo, cousin of Trump accuser, says she's lying.

Only I can't find a John Barry in Mission Viejo.

Can you? pic.twitter.com/NU2i7CHo6E — Christina Wilkie (@christinawilkie) October 15, 2016

Can anyone help me verify that "John Barry" is actually a cousin of Summer Zervos who lives in Mission Viejo, Calif?

Would love some help. pic.twitter.com/objCBHuynt — Christina Wilkie (@christinawilkie) October 15, 2016

Couple this with the fact that Trump has a history of inventing fake people to plant stories and propel false narratives about himself in the press and, well, there’s probably legitimate reason for suspicion here. As you may recall, Trump would often pretend to be his own fake PR person under the names “John Miller” and “John Barron.” As the Washington Post reported earlier this year: