The allegations of sexual abuse continue to mount against Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump. Some of the allegations span decades, and it is getting increasingly difficult for Trump and his supporters to battle the sheer volume of voices speaking out against him.
However, Donald Trump and his circle claim to have an ace up their sleeve. Speaking on CBS This Morning, Trump’s running mate, Indiana Governor Mike Pence had this to say about the allegations:
“Stay tuned. I know there’s more information that’s going to be coming out that will back his claim that this is all categorically false.”
Speaking at a rally in West Palm Beach, Florida, Trump himself said:
“We already have substantial evidence to dispute these lies, and it will be made public in an appropriate way and at an appropriate time — very soon,”
Well, Trump’s proof was published in the New York Post. It is even more underwhelming than you may have guessed.
New York Post reporter Daniel Halper spoke with 54-year-old British man, Anthony Gilberthorpe, who claims to have been sitting in first class on the same flight on which Jessica Leeds claims Trump groped her.
Gilberthorpe claims that Leeds was actually the one coming on to Trump:
“I have only met this accuser once and frankly cannot imagine why she is seeking to make out that Trump made sexual advances on her. Not only did he not do so (and I was present at all times) but it was she that was the one being flirtatious… She wanted to marry him.”
Gilberthorpe claims that when Trump excused himself to use the restroom, Leeds leaned over and confessed to him that she was trying to marry Trump. Gilberthorpe also claimed to only be coming forward with this out of the goodness of his heart:
“I will go to head to head with her — I will meet her again. I will see her eyes across the table with my eyes and I will challenge her on the points she made. And I’ll tell you what, I would do this whether it was for Trump, for Clinton, for Obama, or for any man who’s been accused of sexually molesting someone when I know he did not.”
There is no visual evidence that Gilberthorpe’s account is true, but there are a few alarm bells with the story he is telling. First, he claims he clearly remembers this because of a “photographic memory.”
Trump camp aide confirms to me that the NY Post witness report is the evidence Trump and Pence have been referring to past few days.
— Ali Vitali (@alivitali) October 14, 2016
In addition, Gilberthorpe would have been 18 at the time of the incident. Why was an 18-year-old British man seated first class on an American domestic flight? Why would Leeds, a complete stranger in her 30s, lean over and tell an 18-year-old Gilberthorpe she wanted to marry Donald Trump? And, besides the incredulity of the story, what about all the other women who have alleged abuse against Trump?
Gilberthorpe is himself a fairly shady person.
He once claimed that he recruited underage boys for higher-ups in the British government to have orgies with. He successfully sued a newspaper for libel after it incorrectly reported he had AIDS, only to have the suit reversed when it turned out that he himself had been the source of information to the paper.
Essentially, just like Trump himself, it sounds like Gilberthorpe is a con artist.
Why the Trump Campaign would champion a man with as little credibility as Gilberthorpe is truly bizarre, but it does fit Trump’s campaign narrative so far. Just look at his doctor. And in case you think there might be more “proof” on the way…
Thanks for nothing, Donald.
Watch Trump respond angrily to his accusers, in the only way he knows how:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NF8rs4CYAPI
Feature Image via YouTube Video
