3 Trump accusers finally speak about his alleged harassment

Rachel Crooks, Samantha Holvey and Jessica Leeds

A Miss America contestant who accused President Trump of looking at her “like a piece of meat” in 2006 said Monday that his election was “heartbreaking.”

Samantha Holvey was joined by two other women, Jessica Leeds and Rachel Crooks, who also accused Trump of harassment on “Megyn Kelly Today.”


Holvey did not watch Trump’s inauguration.

She hoped that in light of the ongoing reckoning about sexual harassment by men in media, entertainment and politics, people would view the accusations against Trump in a new light.

“For us to put ourselves out there and to try and show America who this man is and how he views women, and for them to say, ‘meh, we don’t care.’ It hurt,” Holvey said. “So now it’s just like, let’s try round 2, the environment is different. Let’s try again.”

Jessica Leeds recalled an encounter with Trump while on a flight in the 1980s. She worked as a traveling saleswoman and was moved up to first class. Once their meals were cleared, Trump forced himself on her, she said.

“All of a sudden he’s all over me. Kissing and groping. Groping and kissing. Nothing was said. It was just this silent groping going on,” Leeds recalled. “When his hand started going up my skirt — I’m not a small person — I managed to wiggle out, grabbed my purse and went to the back of the airplane.”

She didn’t share her story at the time. She began speaking out when he ran for office.

“I wanted people to know…what a pervert he is. He really is,” she said.
Rachel Crooks talked about her encounter with Trump in Trump Tower in 2005, if it were available.

Then 22, she worked as a secretary near the elevator bank to Trump’s private residence.

She introduced herself to Trump.

“He held onto my hand and he kept kissing me,” she said.

After the encounter she hid in her boss’ office.

“I called my sister. I didn’t know what just happened but I felt horrible,” Crooks said.

Kelly read a statement from The White House denouncing the women’s claims as politically motivated.

“These false claims, totally disputed in most cases by eyewitness accounts, were addressed at length during last year’s campaign, and the American people voiced their judgement by delivering a decisive victory,” The White House said. “The timing and absurdity of these false claims speaks volumes and the publicity tour that has begun only further confirms the political motives behind them.”

NY Daily News