In a lengthy statement on Friday, he branded it “fake news”.
A journalist has accused US President Donald Trump of sexual assault, claiming he raped her in a dressing room in the 1990s.
E Jean Carroll details the allegations in her forthcoming book, What Do We Need Men For? A Modest Proposal, excerpts of which were published on Friday in New York Magazine.
According to a book excerpt, Carroll bumped into Trump at Bergdorf Goodman in New York. The two recognised each other and they had a friendly back-and-forth. Carrol states that then Trump became violent.
“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,” she wrote.
Carroll went on to describe a “colossal struggle” before she eventually managed to escape and run out of the dressing room.
Trump denied the allegations in a lengthy statement on Friday, stating 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.
“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.”
Trump said Carroll was “trying to sell a new book – that should indicate her motivation. It should be sold in the fiction section.”
He added: “Ms. Carroll & New York Magazine: No pictures? No surveillance? No video? No reports? No sales attendants around?? I would like to thank Bergdorf Goodman for confirming they have no video footage of any such incident, because it never happened.”
At least 19 women have made sexual misconduct claims against the US President, all of which he has denied.
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