Trump Jury Hears From Woman Who Claims 1970s Assault on Airplane

Jessica Leeds testifies after Carroll’s friend Lisa Birnbach
Trump denies civil assault, defamation claims, cites politics

Lisa Birnbach
Photographer: Spencer Platt/Getty Images

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By Erik Larson and Patricia Hurtado

May 2, 2023 at 3:02 PM UTC

Updated on

May 2, 2023 at 10:20 PM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

A woman who accused Donald Trump of sexual assault just ahead of the 2016 election took the witness stand in the trial of E. Jean Carroll’s lawsuit against the former president.

Jessica Leeds, a retired stockbroker, claims Trump groped her on a flight to New York in 1979. She was called as a witness on Tuesday by Carroll’s lawyers to illustrate for the jury what they say is Trump’s history of sexually attacking women.