Donald Trump took legal action against the New York Times Wednesday night after the news organization ran a story detailing the accusations of two women who claimed to have been groped by Trump, one in 2005 and the other more than 30 years ago.
The women say they were motivated to speak up by Trump’s denial at the last debate that he ever kissed a woman without permission.
One woman, Jessica Leeds, claims Trump was all over her “like an octopus,” running his hands all over Leeds while sitting next to her on a flight. (Note: Trump was embroiled in a legal battle with a woman named Jessica Leeds in 2007 but the two Jessica Leeds appear to be unrelated.)
The other woman, Rachel Crooks, claims Trump kissed her on the cheek and mouth while shaking hands with her in 2005. Crooks worked at a real estate company in Trump Tower at the time.
Trump played defense in typical Trump fashion: going on offense.
Here’s the legal retraction demand from @realDonaldTrump to @nytimes pic.twitter.com/I8TkAWphha
— David Martosko (@dmartosko) October 13, 2016
His lawyers sent a letter to the Times late Wednesday night demanding a retraction and threatening legal action if no retraction is issued. (RELATED: The Friendship Between Trump And A Billionaire Pedophile That Nobody Wants To Talk About)
Trump would face an uphill battle in any lawsuit, as he would have to prove that the accusations are false and that the Times acted with malicious intent in running the story.
Trump, who has promised to “open up” libel laws if elected, previously threatened to sue the Times after they published his 1995 tax returns.