41 women have accused Trump of sexual assault over the past 3 years

Forty-one women have accused Donald Trump of sexual assault or predation since the release of the now-infamous “Access Hollywood” tape in October 2016.

A new book by journalists Barry Levine and Monique El-Faizy, due out later this month, contains 26 new assault allegations against Trump. Combined with the 15 other women not included in the book who have accused Trump of forced kissing, groping, or other forms of unwanted sexual contact over the past three years, that brings the total to at least 41.

One of the women interviewed by Levine and El-Faizy for their new book, Karen Johnson, alleged that Trump assaulted her at a New Year’s Eve party at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, in the early 2000s.

“I was just walking to the bathroom. I was grabbed and pulled behind a tapestry, and it was him. And I’m a tall girl and I had six-inch heels on, and I still remember looking up at him. And he’s strong, and he just kissed me,” Johnson claimed, in an excerpt published by Esquire on Wednesday.

“I was so scared because of who he was… I don’t even know where it came from,” she added. “I didn’t have a say in the matter.”

Johnson’s claim mirrors Trump’s own comments from the leaked “Access Hollywood” footage.

On Oct. 7, 2016, the Washington Post published a recording of a 2005 “Access Hollywood” conversation between host Billy Bush and then-reality show host Trump. In their discussion, Trump admitted to routinely sexually assaulting women, bragging that he was able to get away with it due to his celebrity status.

“You know I’m automatically attracted to beautiful—I just start kissing them. It’s like a magnet. Just kiss,” he said. “And when you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything. Grab them by the pussy. You can do anything.”

Trump initially apologized for the remarks — calling it “locker room talk” that did not reflect his actual behavior — but later reportedly questioned whether the recorded conversation ever even happened.

In the weeks that followed, 11 women came forward to claim that they had allegedly experienced similar behavior from Trump between the early 1980s and late 2000s. His accusers included Kristin Anderson, Rachel Crooks, Jessica Drake, Cathy Heller, Ninni Laaksonen, Mindy McGillivray, Jennifer Murphy, Natasha Soynoff, Karen Virginia, and Summer Zervos.

A twelfth unnamed woman also alleged Trump had forced her into an unwanted kiss in March 2010, telling her story through her longtime friend CNN anchor Erin Burnett.

In December 2017, former Fox News anchor Juliet Huddy alleged that Trump once forcibly kissed her in an elevator at Trump Tower, in either 2005 or 2006.

And in February, former Trump campaign staffer Alva Johnson claimed he gave her a non-consensual kiss at a Florida campaign rally in 2016.

In June, journalist E. Jean Carroll wrote that Trump allegedly groped and raped her in the mid-1990s.

Trump has repeatedly denied all of the allegations against him, often claiming his accusers are politically motivated.

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.