Trump responds to sexual-assault accusations

Associated Press

WASHINGTON

President Donald Trump says a New York-based advice columnist who claims he sexually assaulted her in a Manhattan department store dressing room in the mid-1990s made a “totally false accusation” against him and he denied knowing the woman.

“I have no idea who this woman is,” Trump said Saturday as he left the White House for the Camp David presidential retreat.

The president scoffed when questioned about a photo of himself with his accuser, E. Jean Carroll, which New York magazine published on its website along with Carroll’s description of the alleged assault by Trump. Also in the photo were Trump’s then-wife, Ivana Trump, and Carroll’s then-husband, New York newscaster John Johnson.

“Standing with my coat on in a line. Give me a break,” Trump said of the 1987 photo. “With my back to the camera.”

The allegation against Trump is included in Carroll’s upcoming book about the “hideous men” the Elle magazine columnist says she has encountered throughout her life. Trump also accused New York magazine of publishing Carroll’s claims against him and others to boost its readership.

Trump’s first comment came in a White House statement Friday in which he deemed the accusation “fake news” and said there was no evidence.

The Associated Press has not independently verified Carroll’s account and she did not return the AP’s telephone request for comment. The Trump Organization, which Trump still owns, also did not respond to a request for comment.

Carroll wrote that a friendly encounter with Trump at Bergdorf Goodman in 1995 or 1996 turned violent when the real estate mogul pushed her up against a dressing room wall, unzipped his pants and forced himself on her. Carroll said that, in a “colossal struggle,” she pushed him off and ran from the store.

During the 2016 presidential campaign, more than a dozen women accused Trump of sexual misconduct in earlier years. Trump has denied the allegations and said the women are lying. While those cases generally involved groping and kissing without consent, Carroll alleged forced penetration.

New York magazine said it confirmed the accounts of Carroll’s friends, but it did not identify them by name.