This morning, the President took to Twitter in desperate criticism of The Washington Post for publishing an article exposing him for forcibly kissing Rachel Crooks, then a 22-year-old secretary who worked near Trump Tower, in 2006 while married to Melania.
A woman I don’t know and, to the best of my knowledge, never met, is on the FRONT PAGE of the Fake News Washington Post saying I kissed her (for two minutes yet) in the lobby of Trump Tower 12 years ago. Never happened! Who would do this in a public space with live security……
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 20, 2018
….cameras running. Another False Accusation. Why doesn’t @washingtonpost report the story of the women taking money to make up stories about me? One had her home mortgage paid off. Only @FoxNews so reported…doesn’t fit the Mainstream Media narrative.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 20, 2018
But Crooks, who is now 35 and running for state office in Ohio, wasn’t about to take his wholly predictable and oft-repeated denial lying down. Instead, she struck back with a biting rebuttal that will be extremely difficult to ignore.
Please, by all means, share the footage from the hallway outside the 24th floor residential elevator bank on the morning of January 11, 2006. Let’s clear this up for everyone. It’s liars like you in politics that have prompted me to run for office myself. https://t.co/ir7EEKoXRU https://t.co/GmkkZ5jUc7
— Rachel Crooks for Ohio (@RachelforOhio) February 20, 2018
Crooks has maintained that, should there be footage of the day in question, Trump’s actions would be plainly visible, a strong refutation to Trump’s otherwise baseless denials.
Of course, it’s telling that Trump’s denial focused not on the notion that he would never kiss a woman without her consent, but rather that he wouldn’t do it “in a public space with live security cameras running.” How noble.
Crooks, for her part, has signaled her commitment to holding Trump accountable for his actions with her detailed accounts of his untoward behavior that took place only months after he married his current wife, Melania.
“He took hold of my hand and held me in place like this,” Crooks said. “He started kissing me on one cheek, then the other cheek. He was talking to me in between kisses, asking where I was from, or if I wanted to be a model. He wouldn’t let go of my hand, and then he went right in and started kissing me on the lips.”
During an interview with Megyn Kelly, Crooks discussed Trump’s recurring denials. “Nothing shocks me anymore about him. I think he’s a pathological liar — it’s not shocking, but it’s sad that people don’t hold him more accountable.”
Trump, for his part, doesn’t have a leg to stand on. He has already admitted to and bragged about this exact type of behavior. In the infamous Access Hollywood tape, he quite literally said, “I’m automatically attracted to beautiful women — I just start kissing them, it’s like a magnet. Just kiss. I don’t even wait. And when you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything.”
Trump himself confirmed the infamous tape’s legitimacy on October 12, 2016.
“This was locker-room talk,” Trump said during a debate with his Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton. “Certainly I’m not proud of it. I apologize to my family, I apologize to the American people.”
Trump has been accused of sexual harassment or misconduct by 19 women, including Crooks. He has neither confessed to these crimes nor taken any degree of responsibility for them. Even in the face of damning evidence – such as the Access Hollywood tapes – the President has refused to address the issue.
In the words of former FBI Director James Comey, “Lordy I hope there are tapes.”
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