Trump accuser says she 'laughed out loud' when she heard him again deny her assault allegations | Election 2024

(CNN) — Jessica Leeds, who previously accused Donald Trump of sexual assault and appeared as a witness in a high-profile trial against the former president, said Monday she “laughed out loud” when she heard him recently deny her accusation and say she “was not the chosen one.”

“I laughed out loud. I couldn't believe he used that word like a cult figure,” Leeds told CNN's Anderson Cooper on “AC360.”

Leeds was one of the first women to come forward during the 2016 presidential campaign to say Trump had sexually harassed her. She said she was sitting next to Trump in first class in the 1970s when he suddenly started groping her. Leeds said she fought Trump off and went to the back of the plane.

“I wasn't the first, of course I wasn't the last. But there were enough that he doesn't remember,” Leeds told Cooper on Monday.

When asked about Leeds' comments, Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung again denied that Trump had ever met Leeds, saying that “whatever fable she is trying to spread is only to interfere with the election and distract from” his Democratic rival, Vice President Kamala Harris.

Leeds was called last year as a witness in Trump's sexual assault and defamation trial, brought by E. Jean Carroll, who accused the former president of assaulting her in the dressing room of a luxury department store in the spring of 1996. She was one of two women called by Carroll's lawyers to accuse Trump of sexually harassing women and then attacking their appearance and credibility when the allegations became public.

A jury found Trump guilty of sexual assault and defamation when he denied Carroll's allegations in 2019, saying she wasn't his type and claiming she fabricated the assault to sell copies of a book. The jury awarded Carroll $5 million in damages.

Trump has appealed the ruling.

During oral arguments before a panel of judges on Friday, Trump's lawyers questioned the admissibility of Leeds' testimony, arguing that sexually assaulting a woman on an airplane in the 1970s was not a federal crime. Carroll's lawyer said “simple assault” on an airplane was illegal at the time.

Following the hearing, Trump attacked Leeds and several other women who had accused him of sexual assault, saying their allegations were “completely fabricated” and that she was a “Clinton supporter through and through.”

“I expect she will now sue me for defamation, just as I was sued by E. Jean Carroll,” the former president said.

Leeds told reporters at a press conference outside Trump Tower on Monday: “It's important to remind voters of Trump's disrespect for women,” adding: “He attacked me 50 years ago and he continues to attack me today.”

When Cooper asked if she would take legal action against Trump over his recent comments, Leeds said, “We are keeping all options open.”

“But no, my goal when I was asked to testify in E. Jeans' trial was to prove that he has been behaving this way for a long time and that I have nothing to gain from it,” she said.

Earlier this year, a separate jury found that Trump defamed Carroll when he repeated several of the statements he made in 2019 in 2022. The jury awarded Carroll $83.3 million. Her lawyers argued to the jury that the only way to stop Trump from repeating the statements was to reach into his wallet.

CNN's Kate Sullivan contributed to this report.