Devendra Kumar
Jessica Leeds, an 81-year-old woman from Asheville, North Carolina, testified in court that Donald Trump molested her on a Braniff Airways flight from Dallas or Atlanta to New York’s LaGuardia Airport in the late 1970s. According to Leeds, Trump, who was sitting next to her in first class, grabbed her chest and ran his hand up her skirt during the flight. She said the encounter was sudden and unexpected, with no prior conversation or warning.
Leeds described the incident as a “tussling match” between her and Trump, stating that he had “40 zillion hands” and was trying to kiss and grope her. She testified that she wriggled free of Trump and stormed to the back of the plane, feeling furious and humiliated. Leeds said that she had not reported the incident to the airline, the police, or her boss at the time because it was an era when “women didn’t complain about things in the workplace.”
Leeds’ testimony is part of a civil trial arising from E Jean Carroll’s lawsuit, which alleges that Trump sexually assaulted her in the dressing room of Bergdorf Goodman, a luxury department store, in the 1990s. Trump has repeatedly denied both Carroll’s and Leeds’ allegations, claiming that they are politically motivated attempts to smear his reputation and deny him the White House. Leeds’ testimony is intended to show that Trump has a history of assaulting women, and that Carroll’s claims are part of a pattern, not a one-off incident.
Leeds’ account of the incident has remained largely consistent over the years, and she first went public with it in the final weeks of Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign. Trump has also denied Leeds’ allegations, telling supporters at a 2016 rally, “Believe me, she would not be my first choice.” Trump’s lawyer stated that the former president has decided against testifying in the trial, which has raised questions about the accuracy of the allegations.