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Trump Attacks Gillibrand and Blames Democrats for Womens’ Allegations Against Him

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump attacked Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand on Tuesday, calling her a “lightweight” and saying she “would do anything” for campaign contributions, without providing details about what he meant.

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EILEEN SULLIVAN

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump attacked Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand on Tuesday, calling her a “lightweight” and saying she “would do anything” for campaign contributions, without providing details about what he meant.

He wrote: “Lightweight Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, a total flunky for Chuck Schumer and someone who would come to my office “begging” for campaign contributions not so long ago (and would do anything for them), is now in the ring fighting against Trump. Very disloyal to Bill & Crooked-USED!”

The president’s Twitter post came less than a day after Gillibrand, D-N.Y., said in her own Twitter post that Trump should resign over sexual assault and harassment allegations against him or that Congress should investigate.

Gillibrand responded to Trump’s tweet early Tuesday, saying he had brought shame to the presidency: “You cannot silence me or the millions of women who have gotten off the sidelines to speak out about the unfitness and shame you have brought to the Oval Office.”

The president on Tuesday also blamed Democrats for the resurgence of accusations against him from women in the past, saying the “fabricated stories” were a result of Democrats being unable to prove his campaign colluded with the Russians.

He wrote: “Despite thousands of hours wasted and many millions of dollars spent, the Democrats have been unable to show any collusion with Russia - so now they are moving on to the false accusations and fabricated stories of women who I don’t know and/or have never met. FAKE NEWS!”

The special counsel’s investigation into Russia’s meddling in the 2016 election and possible coordination with people in Trump’s circle has dominated his first year in office.

During the presidential campaign, several women accused Trump of sexual harassment or groping. On Monday, three women held a news conference in New York City to retell their experiences, saying they hoped that recent accusations against other powerful figures would prompt their stories to be taken more seriously.

The recent spate of accusations against leading men in government and the media — including Harvey Weinstein, Bill O’Reilly, Rep. John Conyers and Sen. Al Franken — has fueled a public discussion of sexual harassment.

Franken, D-Minn., resigned last week after several allegations of inappropriate behavior. In his resignation speech, Franken said he found it ironic that he would leave office while the president had bragged on tape about sexually assaulting women.

Franken was referring to a 2005 recording of Trump while filming a segment for “Access Hollywood” in which he boasted about how he could treat women however he wanted because he was famous, including kissing them and grabbing their genitals. The recording emerged about a month before the 2016 election.

Gillibrand was the first Democratic senator to publicly say that Franken should resign, and she has been a leading voice on Capitol Hill against sexual harassment of women.

Trump has also been criticized for supporting Roy Moore, the Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate seat from Alabama, who has been accused of sexual misconduct with teenagers when he was in his 30s.

The Alabama special election is Tuesday.

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