A prominent journalist is accusing President Trump of raping her in a dressing room more than 20 years ago, according to an essay she wrote for New York magazine.
E. Jean Carroll appeared on the cover of the magazine Friday and penned an essay that details an encounter she says she had with Trump, then a real estate mogul, in late 1995 or early 1996.
Carroll claims that she ran into Trump at the Bergdorf Goodman department store in New York City. He told her that he was there to get a gift for "a girl," Caroll writes. After asking her for help making a selection, Trump and Carroll headed to the lingerie section, according to Carroll.
According to Carroll's account, Trump suggested she tried on a lace bodysuit. She deflected with a joke, Carroll writes, and when they reached the dressing rooms, Trump pushed her against a wall and pulled down her tights, “forcing his fingers around my private area, thrust[ing] his penis halfway — or completely, I’m not certain — inside me.”
Carroll writes that she told two friends of the incident at the time. "He raped you. Go to the police," she says one told her. Another told her to avoid police, because Trump could "bury you" with his "200 lawyers."
New York magazine reported that it verified that Carroll told two friends of the incident.
In a statement to New York magazine, a senior White House official said, “This is a completely false and unrealistic story surfacing 25 years after allegedly taking place and was created simply to make the President look bad.”
In a statement to a Bloomberg News report, Trump claimed he "never met this person in my life" and that the incident "never happened."
NEW: President Trump responds to sexual assault allegations by E. Jean Carroll, saying `I've never met this person in my life' pic.twitter.com/qAyFStIYzq
— Laura Litvan (@LauraLitvan) June 21, 2019
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