NEW DELHI, Oct 27: The United States President Donald Trump has been accused of rape by a former Miss Switzerland, Beatrice Keul, a model.
According to a report produced by Trump’s rival the Democratic Party, Keul, who had previously accused the Republican leader of groping her in November 1993, has now alleged that Trump also raped her during that incident. The report also detailed an investigation by US House Democrats into Trump’s alleged ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The White House has denied the allegations cited in the report, with a spokesman labelling it as “a desperate attempt by crazed Democrats to distract Americans from the surging Republican momentum driven by President Trump’s historic achievements.”
In a 53-page report, Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee revived allegations of sexual misconduct made against Trump, a one-time close friend of Epstein, who died in federal custody in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges involving minors in what was determined to be a suicide.
The report contained a series of Keul’s interviews with Democrats, where the model alleged that Trump raped her in 1993 in “brutal” fashion. She reportedly said the alleged assault took place inside a hotel room at Trump’s Plaza Hotel in Atlantic City after the pair spent time with Epstein.
According to Keul, she first met Trump when she was 24 at a pageant event in New York’s Plaza Hotel, which the Republican leader owned at the time. Trump promised Keul that he would arrange a visa for her and could also ensure that she was accepted into New York University (NYU).
“I will take care of you,” he reportedly told her. Keul alleged that after Trump stepped away from their conversation, Epstein approached her, claiming he was “Don’s best friend” and invited her to a party at Mar-a-Lago.
Further, the Democrats’ report alleged that later a representative for Trump allegedly invited Keul to meet the future president upstairs at the Plaza Hotel. “Upon entering, Trump reportedly grabbed Keul from behind and forcibly raped her; in the process, he tore her dress and caused bleeding and bruising on multiple parts of her body,” the report claimed.
According to the report, “Keul described the rape as ‘brutal'” and said after the alleged assault, Trump “sat her on the edge of the bed, repeated his promises to arrange for a visa and NYU admission, and made her promise she would keep quiet, saying, ‘[T]he show must go on.'”
Trump has long claimed that he had ended his friendship with Epstein long before there were suspicions of any criminal wrongdoing. The President fought for months to prevent release by the Department of Justice (DOJ) of the so-called “Epstein Files” but eventually signed a law passed by Congress requiring their publication.
The 80-year-old president’s name appears repeatedly in the documents, but he denies any wrongdoing and has not been charged with any criminal offences connected to the affair.
Democrats said Keul’s account was consistent with several of the other already-public accusations of sexual assault against Trump and described it as a pattern of behaviour the president pursued during his friendship with America’s most notorious sexual predator.
Representative Jamie Raskin, the ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, accused the Justice Department of covering up “crimes to protect the president.” “Five women have directly accused Trump of rape or sexual assault in Epstein’s company or presence,” Raskin said.
The House Judiciary Committee Democrats called for Attorney General Todd Blanche to appoint an independent special counsel to investigate Trump’s ties to Epstein. “At a minimum, DOJ and FBI’s efforts to protect Trump rather than pursue justice require the appointment of an independent special counsel,” they said.
“This special counsel should be tasked with investigating not only the President… but all of Epstein’s potential accomplices and co-conspirators.” The House Democrats acknowledged, however, that the Department of Justice under Blanche, who is Trump’s former personal attorney, was unlikely to “take even this minimal step.”
“Determined to protect the President at any cost, DOJ itself now leads the cover-up of Epstein’s sex trafficking operation,” they said. “Todd Blanche has gone from being Donald Trump’s personal attorney to his personal attorney general.” Ahead of the November 3 elections which will decide control of Congress, Democrats have reportedly spent more than $35 million on Epstein-related advertisements.
(Manas Dasgupta)