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Trump’s Doctor Said He Felt "Raped" After The President’s Bodyguard Raided His Office

MSNBC

In February 2017, The New York Times ran a story alleging that Donald Trump took a hair growth drug called Propecia. The story cited Harold Bornstein, Trump's doctor at the time, who also told the Times about other prescriptions that the president was taking. Now, Bornstein is alleging that two days after the story ran, multiple Trump associates raided his office and took Trump's medical records. Bornstein told NBC News that he felt "raped, frightened, and sad" as a result of the incident.

In an exclusive interview with NBC News, Bornstein described the actions of Trump's associates as a raid. He alleged that Trump's bodyguard — Keith Schiller — showed up at his office, along with a top Trump lawyer and a third man, and took all documents associated with Trump and his pseudonyms, including charts and lab reports.

“They must have been here for 25 minutes or 30 minutes," Bornstein told NBC News. "It created a lot of chaos."

Bornstein has also said that Trump cut off ties with him after the story ran in the Times, and that longtime Trump assistant Rhona Graff told him to "forget" about being the official White House doctor. Bornstein reportedly told Graff on a previous occasion that he should occupy that position. But Bornstein was already making headlines before Trump became president; he garnered media attention during the 2016 election after he described Trump's health as "astonishingly excellent."

Schiller and his team also reportedly asked Bornstein to take down a photo of him and Trump that was hanging in his office. Bornstein said that Trump never gave him a signed form authorizing the release of his medical records, and argued that Schiller's actions were therefore "a violation of patient privacy law." But despite all of this, Bornstein still doesn't think it was a "big deal" to talk about Trump taking Propecia.

"I couldn't believe anybody was making a big deal out of a drug to grow his hair that seemed to be so important," Bornstein told NBC News. "And it certainly was not a breach of medical trust to tell somebody they take Propecia to grow their hair. What's the matter with that?"

Nonetheless, Bornstein's comments were enough for him to lose the White House doctor role, which at the time was occupied by Ronny Jackson. Jackson reportedly wrote a letter to Bornstein asking for Trump's medical records when he became the White House physican, but Bornstein alleged that Schiller and the other two men showed up at his office unannounced.

According to TIME, there are now many questions about Jackson's current role after he withdrew his nomination to be secretary of Veterans Affairs. Politico reported over the weekend that Jackson would still be a part of the White House medical staff but would no longer serve as Trump's personal physician. The White House, however, has pushed back on these reports, making it difficult to discern what Jackson's current role is.

But while Jackson's own future at the White House is in question, Bornstein seems to regard these reports about Jackson in a positive light. "This is like a celebration for me," Bornstein said about the reports and allegations surrounding Jackson.

In 2016, Bornstein became somewhat notorious after writing a letter stating that Trump would be "the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency." Since then, Bornstein has not wavered on his assessment of Trump's health, telling NBC News that he "likes that sentence." However, he also conceded that he wrote that letter in just five minutes while a limo was outside waiting. It is unclear why Bornstein has come forward now, given that the so-called raid happened over a year ago, but according to New York Magazine, he appears to be thrilled that now, he is perhaps no longer the most notorious Trump doctor.