The Guardian reports that a voice from past of Donald Trump (R-N.Y.) past has risen up to challenge him once again.
Twenty four years ago, a young couple pitched a business idea to Donald Trump. They met him in his office in Trump Tower.
The woman was a make up artist named Jill Harth. Her partner, both in business and life, was George Houraney. The two were pitching the idea of an event they called the “American Dream Festival.” It included a beauty pageant that Harth was overseeing. Naturally, they thought that Trump would be interested in sponsoring beautiful young women.
He was. He was interested in supporting the business and in meeting the women.
He was also interested in Jill Harth. She says that as soon as they met, Trump began asking her questions about her relationship with Houraney, who was right there with her. Although both of them assured Trump that the relationship was monogamous, he kept pressing her.
Harth says that Trump groped her during a dinner the next night and continued to ask about her sexual relationship with Houraney.
The situation hit bottom in 1993, when the couple attended a party at Trump’s Mar-A-Lago to celebrate the pageant deal. Jill Harth says that Trump told her that he wanted to check out the quality of the women he’d be sponsoring. They all went on a tour of the estate, Donald, the women being checked over, and Harth and Houraney.
Harth says:
“He pushed me up against the wall, and had his hands all over me and tried to get up my dress again … and I had to physically say: ‘What are you doing? Stop it.’ It was a shocking thing to have him do this because he knew I was with George, he knew they were in the next room. And how could he be doing this when I’m there for business?”
She says that although Trump was recently divorced and was involved with Marla Maples at the time, he continually pursued her and pushed her to leave Houraney. She said:
“He constantly called me and said: ‘I love you, baby, I’m going to be the best lover you ever had. What are you doing with that loser, you need to be with me, you need to step it up to the big leagues.’”
In 1996, Harth filed a civil complaint accusing Trump of attempted rape. At the same time, the couple sued Trump for breach of contract, claiming that he owned them millions for the pageant. The whole thing was settled and it went away.
Until Donald Trump ran for President, and the story popped up again. Ms. Harth didn’t bring it up, but when the press did, Trump promptly brushed it all aside as “meritless.” He essentially called her a liar.
His office also contacted her to demand that she say the whole thing had never happened. She refused.
So now she is talking once again to the press. She feels, rightly, that Trump’s constant lies and constant reframing of history to suit himself have got to be stopped.
She has hired a lawyer again. This time, she is demanding that Trump apologize to her and retract his statements. All she wants is an apology. I’d be asking for a whole lot more, personally.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7pz7zXBFFBY
Featured image via YouTube screengrab.
