Three of the women who have accused President Trump of sexual misconduct are calling for Congress to open an investigation into the allegations against him.
The women — Jessica Leeds, Rachel Crooks, and Samantha Holvey — appeared at a press conference in New York City on Monday to detail their experiences with Trump, all of which occurred before he was elected president but spanned decades.
“They’ve investigated other Congress members, so I think it only stands fair that he be investigated as well, and I think also a nonpartisan investigation is very important, not just for him but for anybody that has allegations against them,” Holvey said. “This isn’t a partisan issue. This is how women are treated every day.”
The women first publicly accused Trump of sexual misconduct during the 2016 campaign, but they have come forward once again amid the rise of the #MeToo movement.
Leeds said Trump groped her and forcibly kissed her on an airplane when she was seated next to him in first class in the 1970s, and put his hand up her skirt.
Leeds also said Trump called her “that … woman from the airplane” when they crossed paths at a fundraiser for the Humane Society of New York years later. She confirmed the word started with a “C” and ended with a “T.”
Holvey, who was Miss North Carolina in 2006, said Trump ogled her and fellow pageant contestants during the Miss USA competition. Trump previously owned the pageant.
She said Trump would walk backstage to where the women were changing.
Crooks accused Trump of forcibly kissing her while she worked as a receptionist at Trump Tower in 2005, when she was in her early 20s. Trump allegedly kissed her on the cheeks and on the lips against her will, and asked for her phone number.
The White House and Trump have denied the allegations, and the president specifically addressed Leeds during a campaign event in October 2016.
“Believe me, she would not be my first choice, that I can tell you,” Trump said at the rally in Greensboro, N.C. “You don’t know. That would not be my first choice.”
“When you looked at that horrible woman last night, you said, ‘I don’t think so,’ ” he added.
The #MeToo movement exploded after Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein was accused of sexual harassment and assault. Since then, three members of Congress — Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., and Reps. John Conyers, D-Mich., and Trent Franks, R-Ariz. — have resigned after facing allegations of sexual misconduct.
The House and Senate Ethics Committees opened investigations into allegations made against Franken and Conyers before they stepped down.
Crooks said Trump should face a congressional probe of his own regarding the accusations of sexual misconduct made against him, as Franken and Conyers have.
“If they were willing to investigate Sen. Franken, I think it’s only fair they do the same for Trump,” she said.
Leeds, too, said she hopes the rise of the #MeToo movement will embolden lawmakers to examine the allegations, and said she would be willing to appear before Congress if she were asked.
“I am hoping that this will come forward and produce enough pressure on Congress to address it more than just for their own members, but address it for the president,” Leeds said.
