Donald Trump visits Aberdeen, Scotland
Reuters

KEY POINTS

  • Natasha Stoynoff's testimony is meant to establish Trump's pattern of behavior
  • Trump pressed Stoynoff on a wall in one of the rooms in Mar-a-Lago and kissed her
  • The encounter only ended when a butler entered the room

A third accuser of sexual misconduct recently came out against Donald Trump, alleging in testimony before a Manhattan court that the former president pushed her against a wall and began kissing her while visiting Mar-a-Lago on assignment.

Former People magazine writer Natasha Stoynoff took the stand at E. Jean Carroll's defamation and battery case against Trump on Tuesday. She said she was in Mar-a-Lago in late 2005 to write about Donald and Melania Trump's first wedding anniversary.

Stoynoff had previously interviewed Trump for People. She said that Trump led her into a room while Melania was changing clothes in preparation for their interview outside.

"I followed him, and we went in through these back doors and down the hall and turned right into a room," Stoynoff said. "I'm looking around, I'm thinking, 'Wow, really nice room,' wondering what he wants to show me, and I hear the door shut behind me."

And when she turned around, she said that Trump's hands were already on her shoulders, and he pushed her against the wall and started kissing her.

When she tried to shove him away, he pushed back even harder.

"He was kissing me, and he was against me, holding my shoulder back," Stoynoff testified.

When Carroll's attorney, Michael Ferrara, asked if she ever told him to stop at any point, Stoynoff answered that she couldn't because she was shocked by what was happening.

"I couldn't. I tried. I was just flustered and shocked. No words came out of me," Stoynoff said to the jury.

The encounter only ended when a butler entered the room. Afterward, she felt "ashamed and humiliated at what happened."

She also told no one, even her bosses at People magazine, since she didn't want to cause any trouble for the entertainment news outlet.

Stoynoff said she thought of coming out to tell her story after the infamous "Access Hollywood" tape surfaced during the 2016 presidential elections, where Trump was heard telling Billy Bush that he liked to grab and kiss women without their consent.

"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," Trump said on the tape.

"Grab them by the p---y," he said. "You can do anything."

Stoynoff's allegations in 2016 were dismissed by Trump. "Look at her. You tell me what you think. I don't think so," Trump reportedly said of Stoynoff, according to ABC News, with Carroll's lawyers pointing out that it was in the same plane as Trump's "not my type" remark on Carroll.

The federal court has allowed Stoynoff and one other woman to testify in court about past alleged assaults by Trump. Carroll's lawyers said that Stoynoff and the testimony of another accuser, Jessica Leeds, showed a pattern of behavior on Trump's part.

Former US president Donald Trump is behind the Truth Social micro-blogging platform
AFP