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US Election 2016: Trump 'groped woman like an octopus' US Election 2016: Trump 'groped woman like an octopus'
(about 1 hour later)
Donald Trump is facing a series of allegations of inappropriate sexual contact, after US media outlets reported claims from several women. Donald Trump is facing a series of allegations of inappropriate sexual contact, after US media reported claims from several women.
Two women told the New York Times that the Republican presidential runner groped or kissed them. Two women told the New York Times that the Republican presidential candidate groped or kissed them.
A reporter for People magazine wrote a first person account describing being forcibly kissed by the property tycoon. A People magazine reporter also said she was forcibly kissed, while another woman said Mr Trump grabbed her bottom.
Mr Trump's campaign have rejected the claims, describing the NYT article as "defamatory". Mr Trump's campaign have rejected the claims and threatened legal action against the NYT.
His camp has made public a letter to the NYT threatening legal action unless the paper retracts the article, which it called "a politically-motivated effort to defeat Mr Trump's candidacy". His camp made public a letter to the US newspaper calling its article "defamatory" and "a politically-motivated effort to defeat Mr Trump's candidacy". The NYT said it was standing by its story.
The NYT said it was standing by its article. The allegations come less than a week after a video shot in 2005 emerged which showed Mr Trump making obscene remarks about groping women.
Late last week, a video shot in 2005 emerged which showed Mr Trump making obscene remarks about groping women.
He apologised for the comments - which were widely condemned - but described them as "locker-room talk".He apologised for the comments - which were widely condemned - but described them as "locker-room talk".
Many top Republicans, including House Speaker Paul Ryan, have since distanced themselves from the businessman-turned-politician. Calling the NYT story disturbing, Hillary Clinton's campaign said it "sadly fits everything we know about the way Donald Trump has treated women".
But four Republican members of Congress who had urged Mr Trump to step aside have changed position, saying they backed their party. What are the allegations?
'So upset' The New York Times published accounts from two women, Jessica Leeds and Rachel Crooks.
In the NYT, Jessica Leeds, 74, from Manhattan, said she had been sitting next to Mr Trump in the first-class cabin of a flight to New York when he lifted the armrest and began to touch her. Ms Leeds, now 74, said that when she was 38 she sat next to Mr Trump in the first-class cabin of a flight to New York. Once airborne, he lifted the armrest and began to touch her.
"He was like an octopus... his hands were everywhere," said Ms Leeds, who was 38 at the time. "It was an assault." "He was like an octopus... his hands were everywhere," said Ms Leeds. "It was an assault."
Rachel Crooks said she was kissed on the lips by Mr Trump outside a lift in Trump Tower when she was a 22-year-old receptionist at a real estate company there.Rachel Crooks said she was kissed on the lips by Mr Trump outside a lift in Trump Tower when she was a 22-year-old receptionist at a real estate company there.
"It was so inappropriate," Ms Crooks told the paper. "I was so upset that he thought I was so insignificant that he could do that." "It was so inappropriate," Ms Crooks said. "I was so upset that he thought I was so insignificant that he could do that."
Neither women reported their accounts to the authorities, but both shared what happened to them with friends and family. In People magazine, writer Natasha Stoynoff said an incident took place in December 2005, when she went to interview the Trumps ahead of their first wedding anniversary.
In People magazine, meanwhile, writer Natasha Stoynoff said an incident took place in December 2005, when she went to interview the Trumps ahead of their first wedding anniversary.
Mr Trump said he wanted to show her around their Florida estate, including one "tremendous" room.Mr Trump said he wanted to show her around their Florida estate, including one "tremendous" room.
"We walked into that room alone, and Trump shut the door behind us. I turned around, and within seconds he was pushing me against the wall and forcing his tongue down my throat," Ms Stoynoff wrote."We walked into that room alone, and Trump shut the door behind us. I turned around, and within seconds he was pushing me against the wall and forcing his tongue down my throat," Ms Stoynoff wrote.
A spokesman said the account in People had "no merit or veracity". Another woman, Mindy McGillivray, now 36, told the Palm Beach Post that when she was 23, Mr Trump grabbed her bottom at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida in 2003.
Another woman, Mindy McGillivray, now 36, told the Palm Beach Post she was 23 when Trump grabbed her bottom at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida in 2003. None of the women reported their accounts to the authorities, but said they shared what happened with friends, colleagues or family.
Her companion that day, photographer Ken Davidoff, told the newspaper he remembers her pulling him aside moments afterwards and telling him: "Donald just grabbed my ass!" Other reports that have emerged:
Mr Trump's campaign rejected this claim. How has Mr Trump reacted?
In other reports: The Trump camp has not reacted to all the claims, but it came out strongly against the NYT report.
The Clinton campaign said the "disturbing" New York Times story "sadly fits everything we know about the way Donald Trump has treated women". In addition to the legal threat, campaign spokesman Jason Miller accused the paper of launching "a completely false, co-ordinated character assassination".
"These reports suggest that he lied on the debate stage and that the disgusting behaviour he bragged about in the tape is more than just words." Reaching back decades set "a new low for where the media is willing to go in its efforts to determine this election", he said.
Accounts from Ms Stoynoff and Ms McGillivray were both described by the campaign as lacking "merit or veracity".
Asked during last Sunday's debate whether he had kissed or groped women without their consent, Mr Trump said: "No, I have not", and stressed that he respected women.
How have voters reacted?
The latest polls show Hillary Clinton pulling into a solid lead over her Republican rival.
On Monday, a poll by Reuters/Ipsos gave Mrs Clinton an eight-point lead.
It also showed that a fifth of Republicans thought Mr Trump's comments about groping woman disqualified him from the presidency.
What about the Republican party?
There has been limited reaction to the newest claims. But since the video emerged, many top Republicans have distanced themselves. The most high-ranking is House Speaker Paul Ryan, whose desertion prompted a furious reaction from Mr Trump.
However, four Republican members of Congress who had urged Mr Trump to step aside immediately after the video was released have since retreated from that position, saying they backed their party. The NYT said they had faced a "fierce backlash" from Trump supporters.
Which Republicans have deserted Trump?
Inside the tortured mind of a Republican deserter
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