“I just start kissing them,” Donald Trump says in a 2005 recording. “It’s like a magnet. Just kiss. I don’t even wait.”
This was allegedly the case for one woman, who worked at a real estate investment company at Trump Tower 11 years ago, the New York Times reported. The woman, Rachel Crooks, has accused Trump of kissing her without her permission in 2005, while she worked as a receptionist at Bayrock Group, a business partner of Trump’s. Crooks told the Times that she met Trump in an elevator and introduced himself. They shook hands, but then Trump began kissing her on the cheeks and then on the mouth, Crooks alleges. After the incident, Trump allegedly came to the Bayrock office and asked Crooks for her phone number.
Crooks was one of at least three women who have in the past week accused Trump [TRDataCustom] of touching them inappropriately after the release of a 2005 “Access Hollywood” recording in which Trump describes grabbing women by their genitals and kissing them without permission. Trump apologized for the remarks and called them “locker room talk.” He threatened to sue the Times if they published the latest allegations.
“None of this ever took place,” he said.
Jessica Leeds, a traveling business woman, told the Times that she was groped by Trump while seated next to him on an airplane more than 30 years ago. Temple Taggart, a former Miss Utah, has also accused Trump of kissing her without permission.
Trump, Bayrock and partner Sapir Organization were hit with a lawsuit in 2010 for lying about how many units they sold at the condo and hotel tower at Trump Soho – a matter that was also subject to a separate criminal investigation by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.
Bayrock has been tied to a number of scandals in recent years, including a fraud case with convicted developer and ex-NBA player Tate George. A former consultant sued Bayrock in 2014 alleging that the company used “mob tactics” to cut him out of a commission. [NYT] — Kathryn Brenzel