Writer E. Jean Carroll accuses Trump of sexually assaulting her in 1990s

A longtime author and advice columnist has alleged in a forthcoming book that President Trump sexually assaulted her in the mid-1990s, according to an excerpt published Friday by New York magazine.

E. Jean Carroll, the columnist behind “Ask E. Jean” in Elle magazine, alleged the incident took place in the dressing room of a Bergdorf Goodman department store in New York City. Carroll said she did not report the incident to the police, but told two close friends about it at the time.

New York magazine says both of the friends have confirmed Carroll’s account.

{mosads}The White House did not respond to a request for comment from The Hill, but a senior official disputed the allegation in a statement to New York magazine.

“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,” the official said.

Trump later issued a statement denying Carroll’s account. He insisted the two had never met — though New York magazine included a photo of the two of them and their spouses at a party around 1987 — and suggested she was financially or politically motivated to come forward.

“False accusations diminish the severity of real assault. All should condemn false accusations and any actual assault in the strongest possible terms,” Trump said.

“If anyone has information that the Democratic Party is working with Ms. Carroll or New York Magazine, please notify us as soon as possible,” he continued. “The world should know what’s really going on. It is a disgrace and people should pay dearly for such false accusations.”

Carroll alleged that she ran into Trump while she was at Bergdorf Goodman in the fall of 1995 or spring of 1996. The two recognized each other, and Trump asked her for advice on purchasing a gift for a woman, according to Carroll.

After she suggested buying a handbag or a hat, Carroll claimed that Trump turned his attention to lingerie. The two quipped back and forth that the other should try the clothing on before they eventually made their way to the dressing room, she said.

Once inside, Carroll alleged that Trump lunged at her, pushed her against a wall and kissed her before pulling down her tights.

“I am astonished by what I’m about to write: I keep laughing,” Carroll wrote in the book. “The next moment, still wearing correct business attire, shirt, tie, suit jacket, overcoat, he opens the overcoat, unzips his pants, and, forcing his fingers around my private area, thrusts his penis halfway — or completely, I’m not certain — inside me.” 

Carroll alleged that she fought Trump off and then ran out of the dressing room. The incident lasted about three minutes, she said.

Explaining why she didn’t come forward until now, Carroll wrote about the retribution and dismissal she expected to receive and called herself “a coward.”

More than a dozen women have accused Trump of sexual misconduct since he launched his presidential campaign in 2015. The alleged incidents have spanned decades. Tape emerged in 2016 of Trump bragging on the set of “Access Hollywood” in 2005 about groping women without their consent.

Trump has vehemently denied all allegations of sexual misconduct, and the White House has said that the women accusing him are lying.

Carroll worked for years as an advice columnist for Elle magazine. She has written five books, including “What Do We Need Men For?: A Modest Proposal,” which will be released next month.

–Updated at 5:58 p.m.