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In this article by The New York Times, and a related podcast, Lisa Birnbach and Carol Martin detail conversations they had with Carroll at the time of the alleged violent attack in a dressing room at Bergdorf Goodman and contact the three friends have had since.
Carroll, who lives in a cabin on an island in the Wawayanda Mountains outside Warwick in Orange County, is best known for her "Ask E. Jean" column, which has appeared in Elle magazine since 1993.
Carroll, the host of the “Ask E. Jean” television show at the time, taped a segment the day of the alleged 1996 attack at a studio in Fort Lee, N.J. When it wrapped up, she decided to go into Manhattan to shop at her favorite store.
According to the Times' interviews, Carroll phoned Birnbach, author of “The Official Preppy Handbook," minutes after fleeing from Trump onto Fifth Avenue.
Birnbach remembers Carroll being very overwrought, according to the Times interview: “I remember her repeatedly saying, ‘He pulled down my tights, he pulled down my tights.’”
Carroll later described her Trump encounter to Martin, a TV host at the same network. She reportedly advised Carroll to stay silent.
The three women didn’t speak about the incident again until Carroll began preparing for her latest book.“I believe E. Jean in this episode that she recounted to me in 1996. Yes. Without hesitation," Birnbach told the Times. “She doesn’t make things up.”
Carroll's first husband, Stephen Byers, agreed, telling the Times, "It’s inconceivable to me that she would make up a story like this.”
Byers, a former editor at National Geographic, added: “She’s a very honorable woman.”
Carroll is now the 16th woman to accuse President Trump of sexual misconduct.
Earlier Daily Voice coverage of Carroll going public with the accusation can be found by clicking here.
At the time, the White House issued this response: "This is a completely false and unrealistic story surfacing 25 years after allegedly taking place and was created simply to make the President look bad."
After reports surfaced about Carroll's allegation, a national women's group called UltraViolet renewed its call for the U.S. House of Representatives to investigate President Trump for sexual assault and harassment. The group's petition has been signed by more than 80,000 people
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