Former campaign staffer files sexual assault lawsuit against Donald Trump

Trump

A female staffer from President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign has filed a sexual assault lawsuit against him in a Florida court Monday alleging that Trump kissed her without her consent in August of 2016.

The Washington Post reports:

“Alva Johnson said Trump grabbed her hand and leaned in to kiss her on the lips as he exited an RV outside the rally in Tampa on Aug. 24, 2016. Johnson said she turned her head and the unwanted kiss landed on the side of her mouth, which she called ‘super-creepy and inappropriate.’

“‘I immediately felt violated because I wasn’t expecting it or wanting it,’ she said. ‘I can still see his lips coming straight for my face.'”

Asked for comment on Johnson’s lawsuit, in which she’s seeking unspecified damages for emotional pain and suffering, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders called the allegation “absurd on its face,” adding:

“This never happened and is directly contradicted by multiple highly credible eye witness accounts.”

Johnson also told the Post that she had informed numerous people about the incident:

“Johnson said she told her boyfriend, mother and stepfather about the incident later that day, an account all three confirmed to The Post. Two months later, Johnson consulted a Florida attorney about the unwanted kiss; he gave The Post text messages showing that he considered her “credible” but did not take her case for business reasons. The attorney gave Johnson the name of a therapist, whose notes, which The Post reviewed, reference an unspecified event during the campaign that had left her distraught.”

Additionally, Johnson noted that she almost came forward shortly after the incident took place:

“Johnson said she began to consider coming forward in October 2016, after video surfaced of Trump bragging about kissing and groping women without their consent. That was the moment, she said, when she came to view the kiss as part of a pattern of Trump doing whatever he pleased to women.”

Trump has been accused of sexual misconduct by 21 other women over the years. He has repeatedly denied the allegations, but did admit that he likes to assault women against their will, telling “Access Hollywood” host Billy Bush in 2005:

“You know I’m automatically attracted to beautiful… I just start kissing them. It’s like a magnet. Just kiss. I don’t even wait. And when you’re a star they let you do it. You can do anything.

“Grab them by the pussy. You can do anything.”

Featured Image Via NBC News