Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee published a report on Monday, October 26, in which Swiss national Beatrice Keul claims that she was raped by Donald Trump in 1993. The White House responds that „none of these accusations are true”.
According to the committee’s statement, the document was prepared by Democratic staff and presented by Jamie Raskin, the committee’s ranking Democrat. It is a minority report, not a finding of the full committee, an indictment or a verdict. Trump has not been convicted or formally charged in this matter.
What Keul claims
Keul, a former Miss Switzerland, told committee staff that the incident occurred in November 1993 during the American Dream Pageant. As TIME describes, she was 24 at the time. She claims that Trump promised to help her obtain a visa and gain admission to a university in New York, and later raped her in a suite at the Plaza Hotel. According to the report, she suffered injuries, and after the incident Trump told her to keep quiet.
Keul also says that on that day she spoke with Jeffrey Epstein, who introduced himself as „Don’s best friend”. Epstein, who was convicted of sex crimes, has been dead since 2019.
Sources differ on the location: TIME and Spectrum News write about the Plaza Hotel in New York, while some American outlets (including HuffPost) refer to the Plaza in Atlantic City.
Changed account and lack of evidence
In October 2024, Keul told the Daily Mail that Trump lunged at her and groped her, but that she eventually stopped him. As Raw Story reports, citing HuffPost, the report does not explain why her account changed, and it contains no transcripts of conversations. The only evidence presented for this allegation is her own statements to committee staff. TIME notes that it could not independently verify her account.
Democrats say other people could confirm the circumstances surrounding the pageant. However, this does not mean they witnessed the alleged act.
Wider report and White House response
The Keul case is part of a 50-page document about Trump’s relationship with Epstein. The report describes the accounts of 11 women, five of whom, according to Democrats, directly accuse Trump of rape or sexual assault in the presence of Epstein. It also accuses the Department of Justice of covering up the matter and calls for an independent special prosecutor. Raskin argues that „the women who survived Epstein deserve to be heard”.
White House spokeswoman Lauren Bis told Spectrum News and The Hill: „None of these accusations are true.” She called the report a „desperate attempt” to distract from Republican momentum. She added that Trump has been „fully exonerated” of allegations related to Epstein.
What it means
The report enters the debate eight days before the November 3 congressional elections. If Democrats take the House of Representatives, as HuffPost notes, the Judiciary Committee would be the body to oversee any possible impeachment proceedings. For now, it is unclear whether law enforcement will examine Keul’s allegations. The questions may return during the campaign, but for a reader in Poland this is primarily an element of American political struggle, without direct legal consequences.
