White House rejects demand for Congress probe
WASHINGTON DC: The White House on Monday rejected calls for a congressional investigation of claims that Donald Trump sexually harassed women, saying that Americans had spoken on the matter by electing him president.
Democratic Senator Kirsten Gillibrand called on Trump to resign echoing a demand made the previous day by two other Senate Democrats, while a group of 54 Congressmen backed Trump’s accusers in calling for a probe.
Three women, who claimed they were sexually harassed by Trump before he ran for president, urged Congress on Monday to investigate his behaviour and allegations of misconduct.
The three, who first came forward during last year’s presidential race with their claims of harassment, said they were speaking up again because of the current climate.
In recent months, countless women have broken their silence about abuse suffered at the hands of powerful men in the worlds of entertainment, the media, business and politics, in the wake of the bombshell allegations that felled movie mogul Harvey Weinstein.
“The environment is different. Let’s try again,” said Samantha Holvey, who claims Trump came backstage when she and other contestants in the 2006 Miss USA pageant were dressing.
Rachel Crooks, who said Trump forcibly kissed her on the mouth after she introduced herself to him at Trump Tower in 2005, urged lawmakers to “put aside their party affiliations and investigate Mr Trump’s history of sexual misconduct”.
She hoped “that we will hold Mr Trump to the same standard of Harvey Weinstein and the other men who were held accountable for their reprehensible behaviour”.
Jessica Leeds, who said she was groped and forcibly kissed by Trump on a commercial flight decades ago, said the president had not been held accountable for “what he is and who he is”.
The White House swiftly dismissed the claims as “false”.
“The timing and absurdity of these false claims speaks volumes, and the publicity tour that has begun further confirms the political motives behind them,” it said in a statement. AFP