Was Allegation Donald Trump Sexually Assaulted Los Angeles Woman 'Debunked'?

By Alexander Nguyen

LOS ANGELES, CA — At the third and final presidential debate in Las Vegas, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump asserted that all the sexual assault allegations made against him, including one by a Los Angeles woman who was a contestant on "The Apprentice."

"Nobody has more respect for women than I do — nobody," Trump said. "And frankly, those stories have been largely debunked."

The Trump campaign, however, has not officially disproved any of these claims, including one made by Summer Zervos, a former contestant on "The Apprentice." Zervos claimed Trump groped and kissed her when she went to meet with him at the Beverly Hotel and at the Trump National Golf Club. She said she wanted a meeting with him for business advice and for a job.

"Mr. Trump, today I feel that you were interested in me only because you wanted to have a sexual relationship with me and for no other reason," she said at a press conference on Oct. 14.

Trump denies the entire account.

"I vaguely remember Ms. Zervos as one of the many contestants on The Apprentice over the years," he said in a written statement. "To be clear, I never met her at a hotel or greeted her inappropriately a decade ago. That is not who I am as a person, and it is not how I’ve conducted my life. In fact, Ms. Zervos continued to contact me for help, emailing my office on April 14th of this year asking that I visit her restaurant in California."

He went on to suggest that Zervos' allegations and that of the several other women who have come forward are all part of a scheme involving the collusion of his opponent Hillary Clinton and the media in general.

While Trump's statement does raise questions about Zervos' account, he has not offered up any evidence to disprove it either. In fact, there has not been any proof to challenge claims made by several women against Trump since the audio tape with him and Billy Bush was leaked, other than Trump's denial the events happened.

Photo: Michael Vadon via Wikimedia Commons