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Three Of Trump's Accusers Are Holding A Press Conference To Demand An Investigation

by Lani Seelinger
Spencer Platt/Getty Images News/Getty Images

Despite the number of sexual misconduct allegations against him, Donald Trump has always steadfastly denied that he ever did anything wrong or in any way acted wrongly towards his female accusers. Undoubtedly, however, the pressure against him is rising. Now, you need to know how to watch Trump's accusers give a press conference discussing their claims Monday. So far, the claims of the president's accusers have not yet carried enough weight to prompt any serious consideration on his part or on the part of any leading Republicans of a potential resignation — but given the way the tide is going, that could change at any time.

The press conference will come after three of Trump's accusers go on Megyn Kelly's show on NBC to talk about their experiences. Brave New Films, which has recently released a video delving into 16 women's claims against the president called "16 Women And Donald Trump," will host the press conference, and it will be streaming live on Brave New Film's Facebook page. This means that rather than a TV and a cable subscription, all you need to watch the press conference is an internet connection.

The three women appearing both on Megyn Kelly's show and at the press conference are Jessica Leeds, Samantha Holvey, and Rachel Crooks, each of whom claims that the president sexually harassed them in some way. Trump denies all of these claims, and the White House's official position is that the women accusing Trump of sexual misconduct are all lying.

Leeds first shared her story in the New York Times in October 2016, when she publicly said that Trump had allegedly molested her on an airplane in the early 1980s. She said that she had been unexpectedly bumped up to first class and seated next to Trump, but that he allegedly began touching her inappropriately soon after takeoff. “He was like an octopus,” she told the New York Times. “His hands were everywhere ... It was an assault.” After that happened, she says, Leeds fled back to coach.

Crooks told her story in the same New York Times article as Leeds, although the incident that she described happened in 2005. According to Crooks, she introduced herself to Trump outside an elevator when she was a receptionist working at a company that had office space in Manhattan at Trump Tower. Trump then did not let go of her proffered hand and instead “kissed [her] directly on the mouth.” Crooks said that this left her feeling "upset" and "insignificant." 2005 is also the year when Trump was caught on tape making lewd comments before an Access Hollywood recording. One of the things Trump was recorded saying in the tape was "I’m automatically attracted to beautiful — I just start kissing. It’s like a magnet. Just kiss. I don’t even wait."

Trump third accuser appearing Monday morning will be Samantha Holvey, a former Miss North Carolina who claimed that Trump came to inspect each candidate at the 2006 beauty pageant in which she was taking part. "He would step in front of each girl and look you over from head to toe like we were just meat, we were just sexual objects, that we were not people," Holvey told CNN, also in October 2016. "You know when a gross guy at the bar is checking you out? It's that feeling." Trump never specifically addressed Holvey's claims, but numerous other beauty pageant contestants have claimed that Trump leered at them.

So far, these women have merely borne witness as claims similar to theirs have brought down powerful men all over the country. Perhaps this press conference will help their voices to be taken just as seriously.