Difference between revisions of "Mindy McGillivray"

Revision as of 18:24, 29 August 2019

• Mindy McGillivray came forward to recount a time she had been unwillingly groped by Trump after Trump denied during a Presidential debate that he had ever groped women in the manner he was filmed boasting of. “For more than 10 years, it was something Mindy McGillivray said she shared only with a close circle of family and friends. That changed Sunday night. Donald Trump was asked during the presidential debate about when he bragged that he kissed women without their consent and grabbed their genitals -- remarks captured on audio that surfaced this past week. Trump apologized for the remarks and dismissed them as ‘locker room talk.’ But the debate moderator, CNN's Anderson Cooper, asked Trump to clarify: ‘Have you ever done those things?’ ‘No, I have not,’ Trump replied. Watching at home in Palm Springs, Fla., McGillivray said she rose from her couch and yelled at the TV screen: ‘You liar!’” (Palm Beach Post, October 13, 2016)
• McGillivray reported that she had been groped by Trump at a Ray Charles concert at Mar-a-Lago in 2003, claiming he grabbed her from behind “pretty close to the center of my butt.” “McGillivray, 36, said she was groped by Trump at Mar-a-Lago 13 years ago. She said she never reported it to authorities. […]After the show, Davidoff and McGillivray were standing in a pavilion behind the main house in the middle of a group of people. To their left was Regis Philbin and his wife, Joy, according to Davidoff. To McGillivray's immediate right was Trump and his fiancée, Melania. ‘Ray already performed. He's ready to leave. He's saying his goodbyes to everyone,’ McGillivray recalled. ‘All of a sudden I felt a grab, a little nudge. I think it's Ken's camera bag, that was my first instinct. I turn around and there's Donald. He sort of looked away quickly. I quickly turned back, facing Ray Charles, and I'm stunned.’ […] Asked about the possibility that what she felt was Trump or someone accidentally bumping into her, McGillivray said no. ‘This was a pretty good nudge. More of a grab,’ she said. ‘It was pretty close to the center of my butt. I was startled. I jumped.’” (Palm Beach Post, October 13, 2016)
• Immediately after Trump groped her, McGillivray complained to photographer Ken Davidoff, who verified she had told him about the groping at the time and that he had never disbelieved her. “Her companion that day, photographer Ken Davidoff, vividly remembers when McGillivray pulled him aside moments after the alleged incident and told him, ‘Donald just grabbed my ass!’ […] Davidoff said he did not witness the alleged groping but he said he has never had any reason to doubt McGillivray.” (Palm Beach Post, October 13, 2016)
• McGillivray also recounted an earlier encounter with Trump at Mar-a-Lago in 2001 which was interrupted by the arrival of Melania. “She said she had had another encounter with Trump about two years earlier at Mar-a-Lago, when she helped Davidoff photograph a New Year's Eve party in 2001. She was walking out of a restroom ‘and Donald caught me right before I headed downstairs. He goes, 'It's a cool evening, isn't it?'’ she said, mocking his voice. ‘He had this debonair tone. He was totally flirting,’ she said. ‘And then here comes Melania to save the day. She sees me. She had this shawl on because it was cold on New Year's. And she whips the shawl behind her neck and storms off into the bathroom. I made a quick pivot and went straight downstairs and he went after her.’” (Palm Beach Post, October 13, 2016)
• McGillivray never encountered Trump again after the groping incident, but came forward publicly after Trump denied ever groping women during one of the 2016 Presidential debates. “After the alleged groping incident, McGillivray never encountered Trump again. She said the incident is something she and her family and the Davidoffs would bring up periodically through the years, sometimes joking about it. […] When Trump told Cooper during the debate Sunday that he never groped a woman, McGillivray said she started to consider sharing her story. With Davidoff's help, she reached out separately to The Palm Beach Post and to a Hillary Clinton campaign office.” (Palm Beach Post, October 13, 2016)
• McGillivray anticipated that her record would come under public attack and voluntarily disclosed past legal troubles that included charges of DUI and child neglect. “McGillivray gave an interview Thursday to CNN, for possible airing as early as Friday night, and she was planning to talk to other media outlets before leaving Florida. She said wants the public to know that she has had problems in her past, including two felony arrests, a burglary charge when she was 17 and driving under the influence in 2012. She said she still struggles with alcohol. She said she is married but estranged from a man who has open felony charges against him in Palm Beach County and is now living in Canada. Her husband, Daniel V. Edery, was charged in 2008 and 2009 with separate counts of organized scheme to defraud, according to records. McGillivray is not named in either charge. She said she was not aware of his alleged illegal activities. She said she is in contact with him because she receives alimony. She said there's a chance she could go to Canada and stay with him for a while. ‘I'm a real person. I'm not perfect,’ she said, sitting on a couch with her 15-year-old daughter, Corina. ‘I need to expose my ugly side. This isn't for money. This isn't for fame. This is to be honest with her.’” (Palm Beach Post, October 15, 2016)