Woman testifies that she too was sexually attacked by Trump

May 2, 2023, 9:53 AM | Updated: 4:04 pm

Lisa Birnbach arrives to federal court to testify as part of a lawsuit against former President Don...

Lisa Birnbach arrives to federal court to testify as part of a lawsuit against former President Donald Trump in New York, Tuesday, May 2, 2023. E. Jean Carroll, a former magazine columnist on Monday wrapped up three days of testimony in the trial stemming from her lawsuit against Trump. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS

(AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

NEW YORK (AP) — A woman testified Tuesday that Donald Trump molested her with what seemed like “40 zillion hands” on an airline flight in the late 1970s — years before writer E. Jean Carroll says the former president sexually assaulted her at a Manhattan department store.

Meanwhile, Trump’s lawyer said the former president has decided against testifying, answering the biggest outstanding question about the closely watched case. Trump has given sworn deposition testimony, and excerpts could be played for the jury.

Jessica Leeds, 81, of Asheville, North Carolina, told jurors at a civil trial arising from Carroll’s lawsuit that Trump grabbed her chest and ran his hand up her skirt as they sat side by side in first class on a New York City-bound jet. After a few seconds, she said, she wriggled free of Trump, told him “I don’t need this” and stormed to the back of the plane.

“There was no conversation. It was like out of the blue. It was like a tussle,” Leeds testified. “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.”

Carroll’s lawyers called Leeds to the witness stand in an attempt to show that Trump has a history of assaulting women and that Carroll’s claims were part of a pattern, not a one-off incident. Another woman is expected to testify at the trial that she too was victimized by Trump.

Trump, a Republican, has repeatedly denied the women’s claims. He contends the allegations are politically motivated attempts to smear his reputation and deny him the White House. He has said Carroll lied to sell books and that she’s not his “type.”

Trump used similar language in denying Leeds’ allegations, telling supporters at a 2016 rally, “Believe me, she would not be my first choice.”

Leeds first went public with her account of the alleged airplane assault in the final weeks of Trump’s 2016 campaign, telling jurors that she decided to do so because she was “furious” about Trump’s claim at a debate that he had never touched women against their will.

Carroll, a former magazine advice columnist, publicly aired her allegations against Trump in 2019, when she published a memoir. She testified over three days ending Monday that Trump raped her in the dressing room of Bergdorf Goodman, a luxury department store.

Lisa Birnbach, a longtime friend of Carroll, testified that an emotional and hyperventilating Carroll telephoned her minutes after her encounter with Trump to report what occurred. She said she told Carroll that Carroll had been raped and urged her to go to the police, but Carroll refused, leading them to argue before Birnbach agreed never to speak of it again.

Leeds said she was in her late 30s, working in sales and sitting in coach aboard a Braniff Airways flight from Dallas or Atlanta to New York’s LaGuardia Airport, likely in 1979, when a flight attendant invited her to sit in the only empty aisle seat in the first-class cabin, next to Trump.

Trump introduced himself, Leeds said, but she didn’t know who he was at the time. Working then as a real estate developer, Trump had not yet achieved the heights of his fame and was still a few years from opening Trump Tower in Manhattan.

Leeds said she sat with Trump for several hours and ate a nice, first-class meal, but that their conversation was otherwise forgettable. Then, she said, “all of a sudden Trump decided to kiss me and grope me.”

Leeds said she fought back as Trump seemed to get more aggressive, pressing his weight into her, jostling her seat and pinning her in it. No passengers intervened, and no employees from the now-defunct airline came to her rescue, she said.

“It was when he started putting his hand up my skirt that gave me strength. I managed to wriggle out of my seat and storm back to my seat in coach. I don’t think there was a word or a sound made by either one of us,” Leeds recalled. She said the encounter, “seemed like forever, but it probably was just a few seconds.”

After landing in New York, Leeds said she stayed on the plane until everyone else left to avoid running into Trump again. She said she kept the incident to herself, regarding it as one of the “rigors of travel.”

She did not report it to the airline, the police or her boss because, she said, it was an era when “women didn’t complain about things in the workplace.”

A few years later, Leeds said she saw Trump at a Manhattan gala with his first wife, Ivana, who was pregnant. But Leeds didn’t say anything. Instead, she told jurors it was Trump who piped up. She recalled him using a crass word in recognizing her as the woman “from the airplane.”

The Associated Press typically does not name people who say they have been sexually assaulted unless they come forward publicly, as Carroll and Leeds have done.

___

On Twitter, follow Larry Neumeister at https://twitter.com/lneumeister and Michael Sisak at https://twitter.com/mikesisak. Send confidential tips by visiting https://www.ap.org/tips/.

United States News

Former Princess Diane von Furstenburg posing with of Simon & Schuster executive Richard Snyder on F...

Associated Press

Richard Snyder, ‘warrior-king’ of publishing who presided over rise of Simon & Schuster, dead at 90

NEW YORK (AP) — Richard Snyder, a visionary and imperious executive at Simon & Schuster who in bold-faced style presided over the publisher’s exponential rise during the second half of the 20th century and helped define an era of consolidation and growing corporate power, has died. He was 90. Snyder died Tuesday at his home […]

14 hours ago

This image from Washington Metropolitan Police Department body-worn video, released and annotated b...

Associated Press

Actor known for ‘Bob’s Burgers’ character arrested on Capitol riot charges

An actor known for his roles on the comedy television shows “Bob’s Burgers” and “Mr. Show with Bob and David” was arrested Wednesday on charges that he joined a mob of Donald Trump supporters in confronting police officers during the U.S. Capitol riot, court records show. Jay Johnston was arrested in Los Angeles on charges […]

14 hours ago

FILE - Law enforcement officers walk outside Noblesville West Middle School in Noblesville, Ind., a...

Associated Press

Indiana middle school shooter who wounded teacher, student in 2018 will remain in custody

ANDERSON, Ind. (AP) — A judge on Wednesday ordered a former student who opened fire at an Indiana middle school in 2018, wounding another student and a teacher, to remain in custody until an investigation of a separate assault allegation against the teenager is completed. Madison County Circuit Court Judge Stephen Koester cited the youth’s […]

14 hours ago

Associated Press

Justice Jackson reports flowers from Oprah, designer clothing as Thomas delays filing disclosure

WASHINGTON (AP) — a magazine photo shoot in her first months as the first Black woman on the Supreme Court. The details of gifts given to Jackson were among the reports provided by most members of the court in their annual filings, which give a partial window onto their finances. The reports were released Wednesday. […]

14 hours ago

New York Yankees' Clarke Schmidt pitches to Chicago White Sox's Tim Anderson during the first innin...

Associated Press

MLB will discuss postponing games in New York, Philadelphia due to wildfire smoke

NEW YORK (AP) — Major League Baseball plans to discuss whether to postpone games in New York and Philadelphia on Wednesday night because of poor air quality caused by smoke from Canadian wildfires. The New York Yankees are scheduled to host the Chicago White Sox, and the Philadelphia Phillies are slated to host Detroit. MLB […]

14 hours ago

Associated Press

North Carolina lawmakers approve sports and horse-race gambling, bill now heading to governor

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The North Carolina General Assembly finalized legislation Wednesday to authorize statewide and regulate sports and horse-race wagering, a decision poised to open the nation’s ninth-largest state to more legal gambling options. The House voted 68-45 for changes completed the measure, which would offer online betting on professional, college and Olympic-style sports […]

14 hours ago

Sponsored Articles

...

re:vitalize

Why drug-free weight loss still matters

Wanting to lose weight is a common goal for many people as they progress throughout life, but choosing between a holistic approach or to take medicine can be a tough decision.

(Photo by Michael Matthey/picture alliance via Getty Images)...

Cox Communications

Valley Boys & Girls Club uses esports to help kids make healthy choices

KTAR’s Community Spotlight focuses on the Boys & Girls Club of the Valley and the work to incorporate esports into children's lives.

...

Day & Night Air Conditioning, Heating and Plumbing

Company looking for oldest air conditioner and wants to reward homeowner with new one

Does your air conditioner make weird noises or a burning smell when it starts? If so, you may be due for an AC unit replacement.

Woman testifies that she too was sexually attacked by Trump