--- title: White House Denies Donald Trump Sexual Misconduct Claims description: The White House denied allegations of sexual misconduct against President Trump, after three of his accusers called for an investigation. canonical: https://time.com/5059236/white-house-donald-trump-sexual-assault-accusers/ author: Tessa Berenson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-12-11T20:26:35.000Z article:modified_time: 2023-12-12T23:40:42.000Z article:section: Politics og:title: White House Says Sexual Misconduct Allegations 'Took Place Long Before' 2016 Election og:description: "This took place long before he was elected to be president." og:url: https://time.com/5059236/white-house-donald-trump-sexual-assault-accusers/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8e9ae766316b8d4d/6988f4a997cdffceae6b3972/sarah-huckabee-sanders-briefing.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders Holds Daily Briefing At White House og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: White House Says Sexual Misconduct Allegations 'Took Place Long Before' 2016 Election twitter:description: "This took place long before he was elected to be president." twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8e9ae766316b8d4d/6988f4a997cdffceae6b3972/sarah-huckabee-sanders-briefing.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # White House Says Sexual Misconduct Allegations Against President Trump 'Took Place Long Before' 2016 Election > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME D.C. Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition D.C. Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington. D.C. Brief goes beyond the Washington headlines to explain the politics, personalities and power dynamics shaping what happens next. Senior correspondent Philip Elliott brings sharp context to the issues driving the capital, connecting the decisions made in Washington to the institutions, industries and people they affect. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ## Video: Panel of Women Who Have Accused President Trump of Misconduct [Watch (HLS stream): Panel of Women Who Have Accused President Trump of Misconduct](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/zDWMIweE.m3u8) (1:04)  _Published 2017-12-11. Several women who have accused President Donald Trump of sexual misconduct gave a group press conference Monday morning to call on Congress to investigate their allegations._  by [Tessa Berenson](https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Updated: Dec 12, 2023 11:40 PM UTCPublished: Dec 11, 2017 8:26 PM UTC  White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders during the White House daily briefing on Dec. 11, 2017 in Washington, DC. White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders during the White House daily briefing on Dec. 11, 2017 in Washington, DC. Win McNamee—Getty Images  by [Tessa Berenson](https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Updated: Dec 12, 2023 11:40 PM UTCPublished: Dec 11, 2017 8:26 PM UTC The White House again denied allegations of sexual misconduct against President Trump, as [three of his accusers](http://time.com/5058518/donald-trump-sexual-harassment-allegations/) called for Congress to investigate his past behavior. Speaking at the daily press briefing, spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said that Trump has denied the women’s allegations, that any incidents took place a long time ago and that voters settled the discussion when they picked Trump in the 2016 election. “\[President Trump\] thinks it’s a good thing that women are coming forward, but he also feels strongly that a mere allegation shouldn’t determine the course,” she said Monday afternoon. “In this case, the president has denied any of these allegations.” The comments came after three of [the 19 women who have accused Trump](https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/12/what-about-the-19-women-who-accused-trump/547724/) of sexual harassment or sexual misconduct [spoke on the “Today” show](http://time.com/5058369/donald-trump-megyn-kelly-accusers/) about their experiences and held a press conference to call for a congressional investigation. “Our stories seem to fall on deaf ears,” Rachel Crooks, who claims Trump forcibly kissed her, said during a press conference Monday morning. “In an objective setting, without question a person with this record would have entered the political graveyard of aspirations, never to return.” Along with the accusations from the women, Trump was also caught on a hot mic on [“Access Hollywood”](http://motto.time.com/4788179/billy-bush-interview-access-hollywood-tape/) bragging about touching women without their consent, a moment he apologized for and called [“locker room talk”](http://time.com/4526039/donald-trump-locker-room-athletes/) before the election. Sanders repeated arguments she has made before that the election settled the question of whether Trump harassed women: “We feel like these allegations have been answered through that process.” She also added that the allegations were about things which happened in the past. “This took place long before he was elected to be president,” she said. Democratic lawmakers have upped the stakes recently, with New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand [calling for Trump to resign](http://www.cnn.com/2017/12/11/politics/trump-resign-gillibrand-sexual-assault/index.html) over the allegations in an interview Monday with CNN and Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden calling for an investigation. > [](https://twitter.com/RonWyden/status/940292955188924416) Trump’s three female accusers said they were coming forward again because they felt that things had changed in recent weeks with the downfalls of major public figures like Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein and Minnesota Sen. [Al Franken](http://time.com/5057462/al-franken-resignation-sorry/) over sexual misconduct. “We’re at the position now where in some areas of our society people are being held accountable for unwanted behavior,” said Jessica Leeds, who has alleged that Trump groped her on an airplane, “but we are not holding our president accountable for what he is and who he is.” **Correction:** The original version of this story misstated the state that Al Franken represents in the Senate. It is Minnesota, not Massachusetts. ## Transcript These dreams never included a man lining us all up to look us over like we were pieces of meat. These dreams never included a man coming into the backstage hair and makeup area while I sat naked under a robe. When I read the account of Temple Taggart, whose story had so mirrored my own, that I finally felt absolved of the guilt that I had somehow projected an image that made me an easy target. << I ran into him again, and he remembered me. So, that really stuck in my memory. I am hoping that this will come forward, And produce enough pressure on Congress to address it on more than just for their own members but to address it in the president. << They've investigated Other Congress members, so I think it only stands fair that he be investigated as well. If they were willing to investigate Senator Franken, I think it's only fair that they do the same for Trump. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5059236/white-house-donald-trump-sexual-assault-accusers/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5059236/white-house-donald-trump-sexual-assault-accusers/"},"headline":"White House Says Sexual Misconduct Allegations Against President Trump 'Took Place Long Before' 2016 Election","datePublished":"2017-12-11T20:26:35.000Z","dateModified":"2023-12-12T23:40:42.000Z","description":"Three of Trump's accusers have called for Congress to investigate","url":"https://time.com/5059236/white-house-donald-trump-sexual-assault-accusers/","keywords":["Donald Trump","White House","kirsten gillibrand","sexual harassment","al franken","sexual misconduct","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8e9ae766316b8d4d/6988f4a997cdffceae6b3972/sarah-huckabee-sanders-briefing.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Tessa Berenson","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8e9ae766316b8d4d/6988f4a997cdffceae6b3972/sarah-huckabee-sanders-briefing.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders Holds Daily Briefing At White House","caption":"Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders Holds Daily Briefing At White House","creditText":"Win McNamee—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/donald-trump/","name":"Donald Trump"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5059236/white-house-donald-trump-sexual-assault-accusers/","name":"White House Says Sexual Misconduct Allegations Against President Trump 'Took Place Long Before' 2016 Election"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Panel of Women Who Have Accused President Trump of Misconduct","description":"Several women who have accused President Donald Trump of sexual misconduct gave a group press conference Monday morning to call on Congress to investigate their allegations.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/zDWMIweE/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2017-12-11T18:00:15.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/zDWMIweE.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/5059236/white-house-donald-trump-sexual-assault-accusers/","duration":"PT1M4S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/5059236/white-house-donald-trump-sexual-assault-accusers/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```