Over 50 Democratic Congresswomen have demanded that the US Congress hold a formal inquiry into allegations made by several women of sexual misconduct against President Donald Trump, notwithstanding his categorical denial of all the accusations.
“We cannot ignore the multitude of women who have come forward with accusations against Mr Trump.
With that said, the President should be allowed to present evidence in his own defence,” the women lawmakers said in a letter to the House Oversight Committee.
The Congresswomen dispatched the letter on a day when some of the 16 women who made the allegations against Trump in the closing weeks of the presidential campaign last year renewed their accusations at a news conference on Monday and pressed for a Congressional probe.
“In the time of ‘Me Too,’ women across the country are coming forward with their own harrowing stories of sexual harassment and assault. Members of Congress have also come under scrutiny and investigation, with some resigning, for improper sexual conduct,” the Democratic lawmakers said as they sought the inquiry into accusations against President Trump as well.
Signatories included leaders of the Democratic Women’s Working Group, Congresswomen Lois Frankel, Brenda Lawrence and Jackie Speier.
The White House sought to reject once again the allegations against President Trump, with spokeswoman Sarah Sanders saying, “These false claims, totally disputed in most cases by eyewitness
accounts, were addressed at length during last year’s campaign, and the American people voiced their judgment by delivering a decisive victory.”
Responding to questions at a briefing, Sanders said the president had addressed the accusations directly and denied all of them.
As she put it, “This took place long before he was elected to be President. And the people of this country, at a decisive election, supported President Trump, and we feel like these allegations have been answered through that process.”
Some of the Democrats in Congress, having forced two from their own ranks (Senator Al Franken and Congressman John Conyers) to announce their resignations over similar accusations of sexual misconduct, have begun demanding Trump’s resignation.
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand from New York, being viewed as a Democratic aspirant for the 2020 White House race, led the call, tweeting, “President Trump should resign. But, of course, he won’t hold himself accountable. Therefore, Congress should investigate the multiple sexual harassment and assault allegations against him.”