Friend testifies E. Jean Carroll described Trump assault in emotional call

A friend of E. Jean Carroll, the woman who has accused former President Trump of raping her in a New York department store in the 1990s, testified Tuesday that Carroll called her right after the alleged attack.

Lisa Birnbach, a longtime friend of Carroll, an author and an advice columnist, testified in support of Carroll’s claims in her civil trial against the former president. Birnbach said Carroll called her minutes after she says she was assaulted, but she refused Birnbach’s urging to go to the police, according to The Associated Press.

Trump has repeatedly denied the assault, saying Carroll went public with her claims to sell books. 

Birnbach said she and Carroll argued about whether she should report the rape to authorities before agreeing never to speak of the incident again.

The attack is the subject of a civil case between Trump and Carroll, who is suing him for battery and defamation. She concluded her testimony in the case on Monday.

Testimony on Tuesday also included a woman who alleges Trump molested her on a plane in the 1970s. Jessica Leeds, 81, said she was in her 30s when she met Trump on a daytime flight to New York.

The North Carolina woman said a man introduced himself as Donald Trump, and after eating a meal together, “all of a sudden, Trump decided to kiss me and grope me.”

“There was no conversation,” Leeds said. “It was like out of the blue. It was like a tussle. He was trying to kiss me, trying to pull me towards him. He was grabbing my breasts. It was like he had 40 zillion hands. It was like a tussling match between the two of us.”

Leeds said she broke free from Trump and went back to her seat in coach.

More than a dozen women have accused Trump of sexual misconduct, including harassment and assault, over the decades.

The Hill has reached out to Trump for comment.