This is People writer Natasha Stoynoff. She got friends, yo.
Ever since the floodgates opened and women started coming forward to say, "Ayup, Donald Trump groped me," Trump and his campaign surrogates have been saying "PFFFFFFFT, these allegations have all been disproven because we say so, and also because there are no witnesses!" All good Americans know that for groping or sexual assault to be valid, it has to take place before an audience, and preferably you should sell tickets, so the witnesses have ticket stubs, in case anybody ever asks them to prove they were really there for the groping.
Well! One of those accusers, People magazine writer Natasha Stoynoff, has come forward with some witnesses! Oh, they weren't actually there while Trump was (um allegedly whatever) leading Stoynoff to a private room at Mar-a-Lago and sticking his tongue down her throat against her will in 2005, but she's got six people she told at the time, like, right after it happened. People has the stories of all six!
There's Marina Grasic, a longtime friend who says Stoynoff called her the very next day:
According to Grasic, her longtime friend was embarrassed and even thought of Trump’s then-pregnant wife when deciding not to come forward about the encounter.
“Natasha was also struggling about not hurting pregnant Melania if the story came out,” Grasic says. “Beyond just the attack, she was horrified by the vulgar circumstances under which she was attacked and propositioned to have an affair. She was there in a professional capacity, writing an article about their happy marriage, and after the incident Trump acted like nothing happened.
“She was particularly concerned that if he was capable of such behavior, what else was he capable of? Certainly character assassination by a powerful man was of great concern to her, which seems warranted in light of what Trump is saying about her this week. She ultimately decided to stay quiet but be taken off the Trump beat.”
Donald Trump has been insinuating that women who've accused him of attacking them have been too ugly to grope, and in Stoynoff's case, he specifically has asked why she didn't include that in the story she was writing about him. Is that a good enough answer, fuckface?
People also quotes Stoynoff's former journalism professor, Paul McLaughlin, saying he spoke to her the night of the attack, and advised her not to say anything -- not because that was right or just, but more because Trump is a nasty, disgusting person, and McLaughlin was worried what he'd do to her. He backed this up on Twitter:
Weird! Wonder if that's a common thing, women not coming forward when the sexual assaulter or rapist in question is a big, powerful man? Wish there was a way to search the Googles and find out!
A funny/weird thing that's happened since Stoynoff made her allegations is that Melania Trump fired off a letter taking issue with ONE part of Stoynoff's account -- a chance meeting with Melania in front of Trump Tower not long after the interview:
That winter, I actually bumped into Melania on Fifth Avenue, in front of Trump Tower as she walked into the building, carrying baby Barron.
“Natasha, why don’t we see you anymore?” she asked, giving me a hug.
I was quiet and smiled, telling her I’d missed her, and I squeezed little Barron’s foot. I couldn’t discern what she knew. Did she really not guess why I hadn’t been around?
In Melania's lawyer letter, she was like "AS IF," explaining that she ain't even KNOW that girl, and therefore wouldn't have been nice to her in front of Trump Tower. She even mentioned it in her dumb interview with Anderson Cooper. That obviously proved Stoynoff's entire account was a buncha bullroar, right?
Well, turns out Stoynoff's buddy gal pal Liza Herz was there that day too:
“They chatted in a friendly way,” Herz, who met Stoynoff in college, says. “And what struck me most was that Melania was carrying a child and wearing heels.”
HMMMMM. Which is more likely? That Stoynoff and her friend are completely fabricating meeting a big celebrity in New York, or that Melania might not remember a chance run-in with a commoner? HMMMM WE DUNNO.
The other three witnesses quoted in the People piece are women who worked with Stoynoff at the time, and you can read all their stories if you visit their nice website.
As we said, these witnesses probably don't count because they weren't there to get groped by Donald Trump at the same time, or to take selfies in front of the groping, just kidding, yes they do count, just kidding no they don't, WHY ARE ALL THESE WITNESSES BEING SO MEAN TO POOR, INNOCENT DONALD TRUMP?
[ People ]
I had a few days off between semesters in college and a business trip to D.C. We got married in my folks living room, by a female hippie preacher my sister met in rehab, with my family, a couple friends, a deli platter, a Safeway cake, and Sparkling cider for the toast (because of all the recovering alkies in my family and I hate champagne). Even the power went out until right before the ceremony. My maid of honor fell down the stairs. I cried throughout. The preacher kept turning the paper over and over with the vows on them, so we got asked twice "do you take this...." Best wedding ever!
"I mean, look at her!"Must have been decades since he's seen a naturally attractive woman--one whose eyes don't look like they're about to shoot laser beams.