Today, a trio of women; Rachel Crooks, Samantha Holvey and Jessica Leeds at a news conference in New York reiterated allegations of sexual misconduct against President Donald Trump.
Rachel Crooks, a former Bayrock Group receptionist who accused Trump of kissing her on the mouth without her consent in 2005 said, ‘this was serial misconduct and perversion on the part of Mr. Trump. Unfortunately, this behavior isn’t rare in our society, and people of all backgrounds can be victims. The only reason I am here today is that this offender is now the President of our country”.
Samantha Holvey, the former Miss North Carolina 2006 who has accused Trump of inspecting beauty pageant contestants, and Jessica Leeds, who has accused the President of grabbing her chest and attempting to move his hand up her skirt on a flight, also sat with Crooks at Monday’s event.
The firsthand accounts come as a public conversation on sexual assault and harassment spurred by a series of accusations against high-profile figures in politics, Hollywood and journalism rages throughout the United States. Brave New Films, a production company that realized a film on the women who have accused Trump of sexual assault, hosted the event.
At least 13 women have come forward with accusations against Trump ranging from sexual harassment and misconduct to sexual assault, including unwanted kissing and groping. All the alleged incidents took place prior to his assuming the presidency.
In addition to the woman at the press conference on Monday, the accusers include Temple Taggart, the former Miss Utah USA who accused Trump of kissing her on the lips in 1997; Mindy McGillivray, who accused Trump of grabbing her butt at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida in 2003 and Natasha Stoynoff, who accused Trump of “forcing his tongue” down her throat during a photo shoot at Mar-a-Lago in 2005.
Crooks called on Congress to “put aside party affiliations and investigate Trump’s history of sexual misconduct. In an objective setting, without question, a person with this record would have entered the graveyard of political aspirations, never to return. Yet here we are with that man as President” she said.
Leeds added that while some areas of society are “being held accountable for unwanted behavior we are not holding our President accountable for what he is and who he is.”
President Trump has however vehemently denied the accusations.