According to ABC News, in the civil defamation and battery case against former President Donald Trump filed by E. Jean Carroll, a businesswoman named Jessica Leeds testified on Tuesday. She claimed that Trump had groped her during a flight to New York in 1979, which, according to Carroll’s attorneys, showed a pattern of behavior on Trump’s part. Leeds is one of two women who the court has allowed to testify about prior alleged assaults by Trump. Carroll has accused Trump of defaming her in a 2022 Truth Social post by calling her allegations “a Hoax and a lie” and stating “This woman is not my type!” Trump has denied all allegations of rape and defamation.
Leeds, who was 37 years old at the time, testified that she was bumped up to first class on a flight to New York and wound up next to Trump. Leeds testified that Trump introduced himself and then proceeded to kiss and grope her without any conversation. She described the incident as a “tussle” and added that he was grabbing her breasts and trying to kiss her while attempting to pull her towards him. According to Leeds, Trump then put his hand up her skirt, and she freed herself and went back to her seat in the back of the coach section.
Leeds did not scream or yell during the alleged encounter, and when asked why, she stated that it never occurred to her to yell out. She also mentioned that she waited until every other passenger had deplaned before leaving because she did not want to risk running into Trump again. Leeds said she did not tell anyone about the alleged incident at the time because men could get away with a lot in the workplace at that time. Leeds revealed what allegedly happened to her only after Trump started running for president.
On cross-examination, Trump’s attorney, Joe Tacopina, questioned Leeds’ story and her ability to recall the exact date and origin of the flight or name any witnesses who saw what happened to her. Leeds said that she could not recall any witnesses or the exact date, and no one could corroborate her story.
The jury also saw a clip of Trump on the 2016 campaign trail denying Leeds’ accusation, stating that she would not be his first choice. Earlier that day, a friend of Carroll, writer Lisa Birnbach, testified that Carroll called her within “five to seven minutes” of Trump’s alleged attack at Bergdorf Goodman’s, where she was assaulted by Trump.
Overall, the testimony by Leeds and Birnbach supports Carroll’s claim that Trump has a pattern of behavior towards women and has assaulted them in the past. The case is ongoing, and Trump continues to deny all allegations.
