Arkady
President
Robert Mueller should keep his investigation narrow -- dealing with questions of Russian interference in our election and ties between members of the Trump campaign and Russia. To the extent various leads seem reasonably likely to lead to such topics (e.g., issues around the use of Trump gambling organizations and properties for money laundering by Russian organized crime), he should follow those leads. But he should resist the urge to use his mandate to delve into clearly unrelated crimes (or just embarrassing behavior) by Trump. The model to avoid is the ethics-free investigation run by Ken Starr, who was tasked into looking into a small 1977 real estate investment in Arkansas, and somehow wound up obsessed with a late 1990s blowjob in DC.
To avoid letting Mueller freelance that way, while still making sure that accusations of sexual assault and rape by Trump are properly looked into, one possibility would be to appoint a second Special Counsel with that narrow mandate. Each counsel would have his own narrow field of inquiry, with no opening for mission creep.
Trump has been accused of sexual misconduct by 16 different women. Note, none of them are situations like Lewinsky, where he hooked up with some junior person in his organization but both parties involved confirm it was consensual. Instead, we're talking about 16 allegations of predatory behavior -- sexual harassment, sexual assault, and rape.
A quick run-down:
Ninni Laaksonen accused him of groping her butt in 2006 at a pageant.
Jessica Drake says he forced a kiss on her and solicited sex for money in 2006 at a golf event.
Karena Virginia says he groped her breast in 1998 at a golf tournament.
Cathy Heller said he forced a kiss on her in 1997 at one of his resorts.
Summer Zervos says he forced kisses on her, groped her breasts, and dry-humped her, in 2007 at a business meeting in Beverly Hills.
Kristin Anderson said he grabbed her pussy at a Manhattan night club in the early 90s.
Jessica Leeds said he grabbed her breast and put his hand under her skirt on a flight in the early 1980s.
Rachel Crooks says he forced a kiss on her in an elevator when she was working as a receptionist at one of his businesses in 2005.
Mindy McGillivray says he groped her at a concert in 2003.
Natasha Stoynoff says he forced a tongue kiss on her during an interview she was conducting of him in 2005.
Jennifer Murphy says he forced a kiss on her at a job interview in 2005.
Cassandra Searles says he groped her at a 2013 pageant and propositioned her for sex.
Jane Doe says he raped her in 1994 when she was 13 years old, and that he threatened to kill her and her family if she told anyone. Note, this accusation was made under oath, and is supported by a second woman's sworn testimony of having witnessed both the rape and the threat.
Taggart McDowell says he forced a mouth kiss on her at a pageant in 1997.
Jill Harth says he groped her under the table at a business meeting in 1993. Note, this one is also backed by sworn testimony.
Ivana Trump signed a sworn affidavit accusing him of raping her in 1989, when they were married. She has since back-pedaled (not retracting what she said happened during the incident, when she claims he forced sex on her, but no longer calling it rape).
Note the number of times the pattern of alleged behavior fits with the pattern of behavior he got caught bragging about on tape -- not being able to resist kissing beautiful women, and grabbing their pussies.
So, that's sixteen separate women, some with relative minor complaints (the forced kisses and propositioning), others with very serious claims up to and including child rape. In most cases it's just unsworn allegations, but in a few, the women swore to their version of events under pains of perjury. In all but one case it's a he-said/she-said situation, with no other witnesses (although arguably strengthened by fitting so neatly with Trump's own boasts). In that one case, though, there is a corroborating witness to alleged child rape.
Trump isn't competing with Cosby or Weinstein when it comes to sheer volume of accusations. But, at this point, he's left most of the other prominent names far behind him.
To avoid letting Mueller freelance that way, while still making sure that accusations of sexual assault and rape by Trump are properly looked into, one possibility would be to appoint a second Special Counsel with that narrow mandate. Each counsel would have his own narrow field of inquiry, with no opening for mission creep.
Trump has been accused of sexual misconduct by 16 different women. Note, none of them are situations like Lewinsky, where he hooked up with some junior person in his organization but both parties involved confirm it was consensual. Instead, we're talking about 16 allegations of predatory behavior -- sexual harassment, sexual assault, and rape.
A quick run-down:
Ninni Laaksonen accused him of groping her butt in 2006 at a pageant.
Jessica Drake says he forced a kiss on her and solicited sex for money in 2006 at a golf event.
Karena Virginia says he groped her breast in 1998 at a golf tournament.
Cathy Heller said he forced a kiss on her in 1997 at one of his resorts.
Summer Zervos says he forced kisses on her, groped her breasts, and dry-humped her, in 2007 at a business meeting in Beverly Hills.
Kristin Anderson said he grabbed her pussy at a Manhattan night club in the early 90s.
Jessica Leeds said he grabbed her breast and put his hand under her skirt on a flight in the early 1980s.
Rachel Crooks says he forced a kiss on her in an elevator when she was working as a receptionist at one of his businesses in 2005.
Mindy McGillivray says he groped her at a concert in 2003.
Natasha Stoynoff says he forced a tongue kiss on her during an interview she was conducting of him in 2005.
Jennifer Murphy says he forced a kiss on her at a job interview in 2005.
Cassandra Searles says he groped her at a 2013 pageant and propositioned her for sex.
Jane Doe says he raped her in 1994 when she was 13 years old, and that he threatened to kill her and her family if she told anyone. Note, this accusation was made under oath, and is supported by a second woman's sworn testimony of having witnessed both the rape and the threat.
Taggart McDowell says he forced a mouth kiss on her at a pageant in 1997.
Jill Harth says he groped her under the table at a business meeting in 1993. Note, this one is also backed by sworn testimony.
Ivana Trump signed a sworn affidavit accusing him of raping her in 1989, when they were married. She has since back-pedaled (not retracting what she said happened during the incident, when she claims he forced sex on her, but no longer calling it rape).
Note the number of times the pattern of alleged behavior fits with the pattern of behavior he got caught bragging about on tape -- not being able to resist kissing beautiful women, and grabbing their pussies.
So, that's sixteen separate women, some with relative minor complaints (the forced kisses and propositioning), others with very serious claims up to and including child rape. In most cases it's just unsworn allegations, but in a few, the women swore to their version of events under pains of perjury. In all but one case it's a he-said/she-said situation, with no other witnesses (although arguably strengthened by fitting so neatly with Trump's own boasts). In that one case, though, there is a corroborating witness to alleged child rape.
Trump isn't competing with Cosby or Weinstein when it comes to sheer volume of accusations. But, at this point, he's left most of the other prominent names far behind him.
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