Stacey Williams is 27th woman to accuse Trump of sexual misconduct
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Republican presidential nominee, former President Trump in Texas on Friday. Photo: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
Stacey Williams, who alleged in interviews this past week that former President Trump groped her while Jeffrey Epstein watched in 1993, is one of roughly 27 women who have accused the Republican presidential candidate of sexual misconduct.
The big picture: As with all previous accusations, the Trump campaign strongly denies the former model's claims. The ex-president has never been criminally charged for any sexual misconduct — though a jury in a civil case last year found him liable for sexually abusing E. Jean Carroll.
- Trump's boast in a now-infamous 2005 Access Hollywood tape about groping women that leaked a month before the 2016 presidential election drew national attention to misconduct allegations against him.
- Williams told the Washington Post she's speaking out now — with just over a week to go until Election Day — because her account is mentioned in a documentary film released this month that was recorded in 2022.
What they're saying: "It was only when he emerged on the political scene as an America First Republican when women began baselessly accusing him with lies in desperate pursuit of hurting his campaign or money and fame," Trump campaign national press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in part of an emailed statement.
- "Every woman who actually knows President Trump knows he is generous and kind, and has put many women in positions of power in both business and politics."
- She accused Williams of announcing her "fake story on a Harris campaign zoom call two weeks before the election" and claimed Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign was trying to use it as a distraction from unconfirmed reports about her family.
The allegations
Stacey Williams alleged Trump and Epstein exchanged smiles after Trump groped her at Trump Tower in 1993. "The hands were moving all over me," she told WaPo. The Guardian first reported on her allegations after she took part in a Zoom call organized by the grassroots group "Survivors for Kamala."
E. Jean Carroll, a writer, alleged in New York magazine in 2019 that Trump raped her in a department store dressing room in the mid-1990s. In 2022, she filed a suit against him. The jury found him liable for sexual abuse and defamation, but did not determine that he raped her.
- A separate jury this year found Trump had damaged Carroll's reputation, and ordered him to pay her $83.3 million in damages. Trump has maintained his innocence in the case and sought to appeal the judgement.
Jessica Leeds accused Trump in October 2016 of groping her on a plane in the 1970s and recounted her allegations in testimony for Carroll's civil case.
Miss USA contestants
Five former Miss Teen USA contestants told BuzzFeed News in 2016 that Trump allegedly walked into the dressing room when they were changing in 1997.
- Victoria Hughes, one of the accusers, said it was "inappropriate," while Mariah Billado claimed Trump said: "Don't worry, ladies, I've seen it all before."
Cassandra Searles alleged in a 2018 Facebook post that Trump "continually grabbed my ass and invited me to his hotel room" during Miss USA 2013. Yahoo reported on the post, which is no longer public, from the former Miss Washington winner in June 2018.
Tasha Dixon told CBS affiliate KCAL-TV in October 2016 that Trump unexpectedly entered a dressing room at the 2001 Miss USA pageant, which he owned, while "some girls were topless" and others "were naked."
Bridget Sullivan alleged to BuzzFeed in May 2016 that Trump "walked through the dressing rooms" in 2000 while the Miss New Hampshire winner and other Miss Universe contestants "were all naked" and that "he'd hug you just a little low on your back" and give "a squeeze that your creepy uncle would."
Temple Taggart McDowell alleged to the New York Times in May 2016 that Trump kissed her "directly on the lips" in 1997 when the then 21-year-old Miss Utah winner was competing in Miss USA.
Ninni Laaksonen claimed to Finnish newspaper Ilta-Sanoma in October 2016 that Trump "squeezed my butt" backstage before an appearance on "The David Letterman Show" in 2006, when the Miss Finland winner was competing in the Miss Universe competition that Trump then owned.
Alleged incidents at Mar-a-Lago
Natasha Stoynoff wrote in an October 2016 article for People magazine that Trump allegedly pushed her against a wall and was "forcing his tongue down my throat" in 2005, when she was visiting Mar-a-Lago to interview him and Melania Trump for an article about their marriage.
Cathy Heller accused Trump in October 2016 of forcibly kissing her during a Mother's Day brunch she attended with her family at Mar-a-Lago in or around 1997.
Melinda "Mindy" McGillivray alleged to the Palm Beach Post in October 2016 that Trump grabbed her buttocks when she attended a 2003 Mar-a-Lago party.
Karen Johnson alleged that Trump groped and kissed her at a Mar-a-Lago New Year's Eve party in the early 2000s, per a book excerpt Esquire published in October 2019.
Former "Apprentice" contestants
Jennifer Murphy, a former "Apprentice" contestant, told Grazia magazine in October 2016 that Trump allegedly "kissed me on the lips" after she had a job interview with him.
Summer Zervos filed a defamation lawsuit against Trump in 2017, saying he lied when he denied ever groping or kissing her without her consent in 2007. The former "Apprentice" contestant later settled the case without compensation.
Allegations from the 1990s
Jill Harth, a former business associate of Trump, alleged in 1997 that he groped her under the table during a dinner with him and her then-partner in 1992.
- She accused the then-businessman in a lawsuit of sexual harassment and attempted rape, but AP reported she dropped the case after settling a separate breach-of-contract suit with him.
Kristin Anderson, also a former model, told the Washington Post in October 2016 that Trump touched her through her underwear at a Manhattan nightclub in the early 1990s.
Lisa Boyne told HuffPost in October 2016 that at a dinner in the mid-1990s, Trump insisted women walk on top of his table while he allegedly "stuck his head right underneath their skirts."
Amy Dorris, a former model, alleged to the Guardian in September 2020 that Trump groped her at the 1997 U.S. Open in New York and forced his tongue into her mouth.
Karena Virginia accused Trump in October 2016 of touching her breast while the yoga instructor was waiting for a car outside the U.S. Open tennis tournament in 1998.
Other allegations
Rachel Crooks in October 2016 accused Trump of forcibly kissing her on the mouth in 2006 in Trump Tower, where she was working as a receptionist.
Jessica Drake, a former adult film star, said in October 2016 she was with two other women in Trump's hotel suite during a 2006 charity golf tournament in Lake Tahoe when Trump allegedly "kissed each one of us without asking permission."
Ivana Trump accused Trump during a 1989 deposition in their divorce proceedings of sexually assaulting her. She later denied that the alleged attack took place and said in 2015 that the "story is totally without merit," per ABC News.
Go deeper: No evidence of wrongdoing by Trump in unsealed Jeffrey Epstein documents
