Washington: US President Donald Trump has dismissed allegations that he raped a woman in a dressing room of an upscale Manhattan department store in the mid-1990s, terming it “fiction”.
E. Jean Carroll, 75, a television show host and magazine columnist, made the accusation in an essay published on Friday in New York magazine, the local media reported. She said she did not report the alleged attack as a friend of her advised her at the time that she had no chance of winning.
However, the US President said he never met the woman and accused her of making up the allegation “to sell a new book”.
More than a dozen women have previously made sexual misconduct allegations against Trump, which he has denied.
Trump was around 50 at the time and was married to Marla Maples.
Carroll said she told two friends about the alleged incident, one of whom advised her to go to the police. But according to her, the other advised her against telling anyone saying: “Forget it! He has 200 lawyers. He’ll bury you.”
The accusation is one of six alleged attacks by “awful men” that Carroll detailed in her article.
Responding to the claim, Trump said in a statement: “I’ve never met this person in my life. She is trying to sell a new book-that should indicate her motivation. It should be sold in the fiction section.”
Trump accused the publication of “peddling fake news”. (IANS)
