At Sunday night's presidential debate, CNN's Anderson Cooper posed a pointed question to Donald Trump in regards to the leaked 2005 Access Hollywood video that caught him saying of women that he felt entitled to "grab them by the pussy."
"For the record, you're saying you never did that?" Cooper asked.
Trump, downplaying his remarks as "locker room talk," denied he had ever kissed or groped women without consent."No one has more respect for women than I do," he added.
His denial, though, has opened the floodgates for women who are now accusing him of sexual harassment spanning from groping on planes to unwanted advances in the Trump Tower.
The presidential candidate has strongly denied wrongdoing, going so far as to threaten lawsuits against media outlets who published new claims.
For some of the women, they felt compelled to speak out against Trump after hearing him tell Cooper that he had not groped women without their consent. Here's what they have said so far:
1.
Jessica Leeds
When it allegedly happened: Around 1980
Where it allegedly happened: On a plane
What she said: Jessica Leeds, a 74-year-old Manhattan resident,
told The New York Times that Trump inappropriately touched her "like an octopus" during a flight from Connecticut to New York. According to Leeds, a flight attendant upgraded her to first-class, escorting her to an open seat next to Trump. Once they were airborne, Trump raised the seat divider, grabbed her chest, and attempted to move one of his hands up her skirt, she said.
What Trump said: Trump told a the Times reporter asking about the incident that "none of this ever took place" before calling her a "disgusting human being." One of his attorneys Tuesday morning demanded an immediate retraction and an apology from the paper. High-ranking sources in the Trump campaign tell CNN's Brian Stelter and Dylan Byers the campaign has started drafting a lawsuit.
At Sunday night's presidential debate, CNN's Anderson Cooper posed
a pointed question to Donald Trump in regards to the leaked 2005 Access
Hollywood video that caught him saying of women that he felt entitled to "grab them by the pussy."
"For the record, you're saying you never did that?" Cooper asked.
Trump, downplaying his remarks as "locker room talk,"
denied he had ever kissed or groped women without consent.
"No one has more respect for women than I do," he added.
His denial, though, has opened the floodgates for women who are now
accusing him of sexual harassment spanning from groping on planes to
unwanted advances in the Trump Tower.
The presidential candidate has strongly denied wrongdoing, going so far as to
threaten lawsuits against media outlets who published new claims.
For some of the women, they felt compelled to speak out against Trump after
hearing him tell Cooper that he had not groped women without their consent.
Here's what they have said so far:
2. Mindy McGillivray
When it allegedly happened: 2003
Where it allegedly happened: The Mar-a-Lago Club
What she said: Mindy McGillivray, a 36-year-old Palm Springs, Florida,
resident,
told the Palm Beach Post that Trump groped her 13 years ago
when she was assisting a photographer hired to work a concert at the club.
"This was a pretty good nudge. More of a grab,'' she said. "It was pretty
close to the center of my butt. I was startled. I jumped.''
What Trump said: Like with the New York Times, Trump campaign sources
have told CNN's Brian Stelter and Dylan Byers the campaign is drafting a
lawsuit against the Florida newspaper.
3. Rachel Crooks
When it allegedly happened: 2005
Where it allegedly happened: Outside a Trump Tower elevator
What she said: Eleven years ago, Bayrock Group receptionist Rachel Crooks
greeted Trump outside a elevator in the building where they both worked.
She said she attempted to be cordial to one of her company's business
partners. But after saying hello and shaking hands, she claims Trump kissed
her on her cheeks and then on the mouth. "It was so inappropriate,"
she
told the New York Times. "I was so upset that he thought I was so
insignificant that he could do that."
What Trump said: Jason Miller, a Trump spokesman, called The New York
Times article "fiction" on Wednesday night. "For the New York Times to launch
a completely false, coordinated character assassination against Mr. Trump
on a topic like this is dangerous," Miller
said in a statement, which reacted
to both claims. "To reach back decades in an attempt to smear Mr. Trump
trivializes sexual assault, and it sets a new low for where the media is willing
to go in its efforts to determine this election."
4. Natasha Stoynoff
When it allegedly happened: 2005
Where it allegedly happened: The Mar-a-Lago Club
What she said: During an assignment to cover Trump's one-year wedding
anniversary to his wife, Melania, People magazine writer Natasha Stoynoff
claims the now-presidential candidate pushed her against a wall, started
"forcing his tongue" down her throat, and physically attacked her during a tour
of the place. "Now, I'm a tall, strapping girl who grew up wrestling two giant
brothers. I even once sparred with Mike Tyson. It takes a lot to push me. But
Trump is much bigger -- a looming figure -- and he was fast, taking me by
surprise and throwing me off balance," she wrote.
What Trump said: Trump's campaign, which has not responded to CNN's
request for comment, told People that the incident never happened.
"There is no merit or veracity to this fabricated story," a spokeswoman said.
5. Anonymous
When it allegedly happened: 2010
Where it allegedly happened: Trump Tower
What she said: According to CNN's Erin Burnett, Trump suggested her friend,
who was with him in a Trump Tower boardroom, take some Tic Tacs. Then he
leaned in to kiss her on the lips, which caught her off guard. "I was really
freaked out," the woman later told Burnett. After that, Trump invited her into his
office alone. He told the woman she was "special" and proceeded to give her
his cell phone number. "I ran the hell out of there," the friend told Burnett.
What Trump said: The Trump campaign has not responded to CNN's request
for comment.
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