(Trigger warning: Some readers may find details of this report disturbing. Discretion is advised.)
A second woman has now accused former United States President Donald Trump of molesting her on a New York City-bound jet back in 1979, on Tuesday (May 2). This comes amid the ongoing trial where Trump has been accused of sexual assault by writer E. Jean Carroll. During the hearing, a friend of Carroll also backed up the writer’s account of her being raped by Trump, in a Manhattan department store.
Woman testifies against Trump
A woman named Jessica Leeds, from Asheville, North Carolina told jurors at the civil trial of Carroll’s lawsuit that Trump allegedly grabbed her chest and ran his hand up her skirt as they sat side by side in first class. Leeds said she was in her late 30s travelling from Dallas or Atlanta to New York’s LaGuardia Airport when “all of a sudden Trump decided to kiss me and grope me.”
Leeds said that after a few seconds, she wriggled free of Trump, and told him “I don’t need this” before storming to the back of the plane, as per media reports.
This comes as another woman, who too was victimised, is expected to testify in the trial against the former president. Leeds was called to the witness stand by Carroll’s lawyers who are reportedly trying to prove that Trump has a history of assaulting women and that the writer’s case was not a one-off incident.
However, this is not the first time that Leeds went public with her account of the alleged airplane assault. In an interview, the now 81-year-old spoke up about the incident during Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign after he claimed that he had never touched women against their will.
Carroll’s friend testifies
Trump’s lawyer said the former president has decided against testifying. Meanwhile, the former president has repeatedly denied the women’s claims and said that these allegations are politically motivated.
The former magazine advice columnist who first publicly aired her allegations against Trump in 2019, has accused the former president of raping her at Bergdorf Goodman, a luxury department store based on Fifth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, New York.
Carroll said after raping her, Trump defamed her when she spoke the truth. Carroll is suing Trump for battery and defamation in a civil trial. Carroll denied making up her claims to drive publicity for her memoir, “What Do We Need Men For? A Modest Proposal,” during the cross-examination, on Monday.
Carroll’s friend, author Lisa Birnbach, told a jury in Manhattan federal court that she “vividly” remembers how one evening back in 1996, Carroll called her and said that Trump had just attacked her in a dressing room of the department store. Carroll told her Trump slammed her into the wall, pulled down her tights and “penetrated her with his penis.”
“I whispered, E. Jean, he raped you. You should go to the police,” Birnbach testified. According to the author, Carroll was emotional and hyperventilating on the phone. Birnbach testified that Carroll refused to go to the police and asked her to never tell anyone about the incident.
“Instead of wallowing, she puts on lipstick, dusts herself off and moves on,” said Birnbach, about why her Carroll stayed silent about the alleged assault for decades.
(With inputs from agencies)
You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.
