[ad_1]
Trump denied the allegations in a statement Friday, saying he had “never met this person.” He accused Carroll of sharing her account to raise book sales, comparing her to women who “falsely accused” Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh during his contentious confirmation hearings. The article published Friday includes a photo of Trump and Carroll talking in a group.
“Shame on those who make up false stories of assault to try to get publicity for themselves, or sell a book, or carry out a political agenda — like Julie Swetnick who falsely accused Justice Brett Kavanaugh,” Trump said. “It’s just as bad for people to believe it, particularly when there is zero evidence. Worse still for a dying publication to try to prop itself up by peddling fake news — it’s an epidemic.”
Carroll claims that she encountered Trump in the fall of 1995 or spring 1996 at the Bergdorf Goodman department store, where she says he attacked her in one of the dressing rooms.
According to Carroll’s account, Trump sought her advice in buying a gift, and the two had met previously.
Carroll, who was 52 at the time, claims that while gift shopping, Trump pressured her to try on lingerie and grabbed her arm to pull her toward the dressing room.
“The moment the dressing-room door is closed, he lunges at me, pushes me against the wall, hitting my head quite badly, and puts his mouth against my lips,” Carroll alleges. “I am so shocked I shove him back and start laughing again. He seizes both my arms and pushes me up against the wall a second time, and, as I become aware of how large he is, he holds me against the wall with his shoulder and jams his hand under my coat dress and pulls down my tights.”
Trump, in his denial Friday, also implied that Democrats could be involved in Carroll’s “false accusations” but did not offer any details as to how.
“If anyone has information that the Democratic Party is working with Ms. Carroll or New York Magazine, please notify us as soon as possible,” Trump said in the statement. “The world should know what’s really going on. It is a disgrace and people should pay dearly for such false accusations.”
Carroll says in the New York Magazine excerpt published Friday that she did not report the alleged incident to the police, but confided in two close friends. The two friends confirmed their accounts to the magazine, New York Magazine reports.
The department store confirmed to Carroll that it no longer has security footage from the time she claims the incident occurred.
Carroll has been an advice columnist for Elle magazine for 26 years. She posed for the New York magazine cover wearing a coatdress she claims she wore when she was attacked by Trump.
Trump also vehemently denied all of the womens’ allegations made against him, and less than three weeks before the election, he threatened to file a lawsuit against “all of these liars” once the election was over.
CNN’s Dan Merica contributed to this report.
[ad_2]
Source link