- Jessica Leeds, Rachel Crooks, and Samantha Holvey said in an interview on NBC News' "Megyn Kelly Today" on Monday that President Donald Trump had groped and forcibly kissed them.
- "All of a sudden he was all over me, kissing and groping," Leeds said.
- Crooks said Trump held her hand and kissed her on the mouth when she was working as a receptionist at Trump Tower in Manhattan.
- On Sunday, Nikki Haley, the UN ambassador who is one of the highest-ranking women in the Trump administration, said the president's accusers "should be heard."
- The White House denied the accusations on Monday, saying in part, "The timing and absurdity of these false claims speaks volumes and the publicity tour that has begun only further confirms the political motives behind them."
The White House lashed out Monday at the women who have accused President Trump of sexual harassment after three of them recounted their claims during a television interview.
Jessica Leeds, Rachel Crooks, and Samantha Holvey spoke out about what they claim was forcible kissing and groping by Trump in an interview on NBC News’ "Megyn Kelly TODAY," one year after initially going public with their stories.
"We are private citizens and for us to put ourselves out there to try and show America who this man is, and especially how he views women, and for them to say, 'Nah, we don't care' — it hurt," Holvey, a former Miss USA contestant, said. "This is round two, the environment's different, let's try again."
The White House denied the claims in a statement issued Monday morning.
"These false claims, totally disputed most cases by eyewitness accounts, were addressed at length during last year's campaign, and the American people voiced their judgment by delivering a decisive victory," the statement read. "The timing and absurdity of these false claims speaks volumes and the publicity tour that has begun only further confirms the political motives behind them."
Rachel Crooks said she introduced herself to Trump in 2005 outside an elevator in Trump Tower in Manhattan, where she worked as a receptionist, and that he kissed her on the mouth.
"He held onto my hand and he kept kissing me," Crooks said. "I was shocked, devastated... I remember hiding in our boss's office because no one else was there, it was early in the morning, and I called my sister... I felt horrible."
Crooks said at the time, she believed she would have lost her job if she said anything about the interaction to her company.
"I wish I had been stronger then," she said.
She said the denials from the White House are "laughable" and "crazy."
"I can’t imagine anyone wanting to come into the spotlight about this," she said. "The things that happened to us spanned decades, states — all over — how could we have possibly colluded to come up with these tales that all sound eerily similar."
Holvey, who was a Miss USA contestant in 2006, described Trump walking through the dressing room during the pageant while the women were dressed in only robes.
"He lined all of us up," she said. "I thought this was going to be a meet-and-greet... But he was looking me over like I was a piece of meat. ...I was just simply there for his pleasure. It left me feeling very gross, very dirty. I thought, 'this is not what I signed up for.'"
Leeds was on a flight in the late 1970s when she claims that Trump, who was seated next to her, started groping her.
"All of a sudden he was all over me kissing and groping," she said. "Nothing was said... it was just this silent groping going on. ...When his hands started going up my skirt, I managed to wiggle out stand up, and go to the back of the airplane."
Leeds said she was at a gala in New York three years later when she ran into Trump. She said he recognized her and called her a c---.
"He called me the worst name ever," she said. "It was shocking. It was like a bucket of cold water being thrown over me."
Trump denied Leeds' claims last year, saying, "People that are willing to say 'Oh I was with Donald Trump in 1980, I was sitting with him on an airplane and he went after me. Believe me, she would not be my first choice."
Leeds said she decided to go public with her story when Trump announced he was running for president.
"I really wanted people to know who he is," she said.
The interview with Leeds, Crooks, and Holvey aired the day after Nikki Haley, one of the highest-ranking women in the Trump administration, said the president's accusers "should be heard."
"They should be heard, and they should be dealt with," Haley, the US ambassador to the United Nations, said Sunday on CBS’s "Face the Nation." "And I think we heard from them prior to the election. And I think any woman who has felt violated or felt mistreated in any way, they have every right to speak up."
Trump could be forced to testify on sexual harassment claims
Trump is facing a lawsuit brought by one of the 16-plus women who have accused him of sexual harassment.
The suit was filed by Summer Zervos, a former contestant on "The Apprentice," who claimed last year that Trump "very aggressively" kissed her, groped her breasts, and began "thrusting" his genitals at her in a 2007 meeting at The Beverly Hills Hotel. Her claim is that Trump damaged her reputation when he called her a liar.
Trump could be forced to testify on the many sexual harassment allegations against him as part of the lawsuit. His accusers could also be called to testify.
Crooks said Monday that she had no interest in filing her own lawsuit against Trump, but said she would support Zervos' lawsuit.
"I would be happy to support her," Crooks said. "For me, it's just about getting the truth out there."
Trump's legal team is fighting to get the case dismissed on the grounds that a sitting president can't be sued in state court. Part of their reasoning is that a trial could distract Trump from his official business as president.
A decision on whether the case can proceed could come before the end of the year.
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'He held onto my hand and he kept kissing me': Women accusing Trump of sexual harassment speak out in harrowing interview posted first on http://lawpallp.tumblr.com
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