Journalism Prof Backs Up Writer's Trump-Assault Story

Prof says he told Natasha Stoynoff to keep quiet
By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 19, 2016 11:39 AM CDT
Journalism Prof Backs Up Writer's Trump-Assault Story
Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally in Grand Junction, Colo.   (AP Photo/ Brennan Linsley)

Donald Trump may have suggested Natasha Stoynoff wasn't attractive enough to assault, but the People writer has half a dozen people backing up her account that he forced his tongue down her throat during a 2015 interview at his Florida estate—including her old journalism professor. Paul McLaughlin, who taught Stoynoff at Ryerson University in Toronto, tells People his former student called him the day of the alleged attack asking for advice. "I advised her not to say anything, because I believed Trump would deny it and try to destroy her," he says. "Now [Trump’s] got to say that I'm a liar, too, and I'm not. I'm telling the truth," he adds, per the Toronto Star.

A friend also says she was with Stoynoff when she ran into Melania Trump in New York afterward—a claim Melania denies—and several colleagues say Stoynoff told them about the alleged assault when she returned from assignment. The encounter left Stoynoff shaken, the confidants say, though "it's possible [Trump] just doesn't remember it," adds Stoynoff. "It was over 10 years ago and I assume I am one of many, many women." She assumes right, according to Mark Cuban. He told CNN Tuesday that he's heard "second- and third-hand" accounts of at least two women assaulted by Trump in 2000 and 2014 who have yet to come forward and probably won't, per Fast Company. (More Donald Trump stories.)

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