A woman who accused President Trump of groping her in 2003 is demanding justice and an ethics probe into the allegations against him, and said she believes her First Amendment rights are “more powerful than the Second.”
“I demand that he’s subjected to an investigation by the Ethics Committee,” Melinda McGillivray told NBC’s “Megyn Kelly Today” on Tuesday. “It’s important we hold this man to the highest standards. If 16 women have come forward, then why hasn’t anything been done? Where is our investigation? I want justice.”
McGillivray is one of more than a dozen women who have accused Trump of sexual misconduct. The women spoke publicly about their encounters with Trump, which occurred before he was elected president, during the 2016 campaign. But, many are speaking out again amid the spread of the #MeToo movement, which has sparked a national conversation about sexual harassment.
“People need to know the truth,” she said. “The truth will set you free, and we have liberties in this country. I’m going to practice my First Amendment. I’m going to stand up and talk. My First Amendment is more powerful than the Second [Amendment].”
McGillivray said her encounter with Trump occurred at Mar-a-Lago, his property in Palm Beach, Fla., in 2003.
McGillivray, who was then 23 years old, was there to attend a concert with a friend, photographer Ken Davidoff, and assist him during the event.
At one point, she recalled, McGillivray was standing backstage with several celebrities, including Donald and Melania Trump, who weren’t married at the time.
“The next thing you know, I feel a grab on my right side,” McGillivray said. “So, I quickly turn to look at what this is. I initially think this is probably Ken’s camera bag, but to my surprise it’s Donald.”
McGillivray said Trump was standing more than a foot away from her, so “his hand had to reach out” to grab her butt.
“I’m stunned,” she said. “I’m speechless. I don’t even know what to do or say in that moment.”
McGillivray said Trump didn’t say a word to her, but remembered she could “see it in his face, the look of guilt.”
She told Davidoff after the encounter, saying, “Donald just grabbed my caboose.”
McGillivray said she first met Trump two years earlier, in 2001, during a Huey Lewis and the News concert at Mar-a-Lago.
She recalled going to use the restroom, and Trump was standing outside of it when she came out.
Trump, McGillivray recalled, started talking about the weather in a “’Rico Suave’ voice,” and said she felt Trump was flirting.
In addition to McGillivray, three other women — Jessica Leeds, Samantha Holvey, and Rachel Crooks — appeared on “Megyn Kelly Today” on Monday to discuss Trump’s inappropriate behavior with them. In a subsequent press conference, the three women called for a congressional investigation into the allegations against him.
The women all said they were disappointed to see him elected to the presidency last year.
“I was in dismay,” McGillivray said. “I can’t believe a guy like that could make it into the highest office and be revered as this leader. I can’t look up to a man like that. I think that we have got to have higher standards in this country, and we need to hold these people accountable.
“He has to face the music. He can’t get away with this.”
The White House dismissed the allegations against Trump on Monday by saying the women have “political motives.”
“The people of this country, at a decisive election, supported President Trump, and we feel like these allegations have been answered through that process,” White House press secretary Sarah Sanders told reporters.
Trump also responded to the accusations Tuesday and said he has never met any of his accusers.
“Despite thousands of hours wasted and many millions of dollars spent, the Democrats have been unable to show any collusion with Russia—so now they are moving on to the false accusations and fabricated stories of women who I don’t know and/or have never met. FAKE NEWS!”
But McGillivary rebuffed Trump’s tweet.
“I don’t want to be called a liar,” she said. “I’m not a liar.”
