Who is Jessica Leeds? Details explored as Trump accuser testifies in E Jean Carroll trial

On Tuesday, May 2, Jessica Leeds took the stand in the E Jean Carroll trial to testify against Donald Trump, who is at the center of a civil battery and defamation lawsuit.

E Jean Carroll, 79, prominently known as an advice columnist for Elle magazine from 1993 through 2019, is suing Trump after he vehemently denied that he allegedly r*ped the advice columnist during an encounter at an upmarket New York department store, Bergdorf Goodman, in 1996.

The allegations came to light after her book, What Do We Need Men For?, described the assault in detail in 2019.

Trigger Warning: This article details s*xual assault. Readers' discretion is advised.

In the lawsuit, Carroll claimed that Trump’s repeated denial and subsequent disparaging remarks besmirched her character and led to her dismissal from Elle. Jessica Leeds’ testimony, alongside other women, will supposedly lend support to Carroll’s claims in the case against Trump, who has historically denied that he has groped women in the past.

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Jessica Leeds worked as a traveling salesman in the 70's

On Tuesday, May 2, Jessica Leeds, 81, a retired stockbroker from Asheville, North Carolina, gave descriptive testimony about what had transpired during a flight in the late 1970s when Trump allegedly accosted her with what seemed like “40 zillion hands.”

Jessica Leeds, a native of Springfield, Missouri, said that during the alleged attack, she was reportedly working as a traveling salesperson for a company that supplied paper to other businesses. At the time, the former president allegedly attacked her on a flight from Dallas, Texas, to New York in 1979, when she was 38.

Detailing the incident in court, Leeds said she was traveling in coach on the flight when she was bumped from economy to first class and seated next to Trump. Shortly after they shared a meal, Trump allegedly began groping her despite her resistance to the overtures. She said:

“There was no conversation. It was like out of the blue. It was like a tussle. He was trying to kiss me, trying to pull me towards him. He was grabbing my breasts. It was like he had 40 zillion hands. It was like a tussling match between the two of us.”

Undeterred by Leeds’ discomfort, Trump then allegedly proceeded to put his hand up her shirt, which jolted her out of her seat and propelled her to run back to the coach. Leeds also noted that the flight crew was indifferent to her plight.

Leeds said that she had not confided in people about the alleged assault for decades as it likely would not have mattered during that era. Leeds noted that women were so often subjected to gender-based harassment that people were desensitized to the incidents. She said:

"In the late seventies, women didn't complain about s*xual assault in the workplace.”

Leeds noted that two years later, she was working at a gala in New York City when she ran into Trump and his then-wife, Ivana, when Trump recognized her, saying:

"I remember you, you're that c**t from the airplane."

Leeds recounted the moments as “a bucket of cold water had been thrown over my head.”

In an attempt to discredit her testimony, the defense attorney dredged up Leeds’ apparent dislike for Trump’s politics and presidency, citing previous instances when she had vocally criticized the former president. Leeds then responded by saying that her testimony was not politically motivated, adding:

“I’m exhausted, I’m above it all, and I hope I never have to tell my story again.”

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Jessica Leeds first accused Trump of assault in 2016

It should be noted that this is not the first time Jessica Leeds has accused Trump of assault. In 2016, during Trump’s presidential bid, Leeds came forward with her accusation, which was published in the New York Times alongside that of another accuser, Rachel Crooks.

Leeds revealed the alleged transgression after Trump denied ever kissing or groping women without their consent in a televised presidential debate between Trump and Hillary Clinton in 2016.