AP Photo/Evan Vucci
President Donald Trump.
- President Donald Trump reportedly suggested twice this year that the 2005 "Access Hollywood" tape, in which he discussed groping women without their consent, is a fake.
- Trump admitted last year that the voice on the tape was his, and apologized for his comments, calling them "locker room talk."
- Trump was reminded of the controversy as the sexual misconduct allegations against Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore continue to mount.
President Donald Trump has suggested, at least twice since January, that the infamous 2005 "Access Hollywood" tape The Washington Post uncovered during the 2016 presidential race is a fake, according to The New York Times.
Trump suggested to a Senator that the leaked recording was inauthentic, and he recently repeated the claim to an adviser, the report said.
Trump revisited the tape amid a mounting number of sexual misconduct allegations against Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore. Moore is running to fill the seat vacated by Attorney General Jeff Sessions.
At least nine women have so far accused Moore of either groping them, molesting them, or pursuing relationships with them when they were teenagers and he was in his 30s.
Several congressional Republicans disavowed Moore and called for him to step aside as the allegations against him increased, but he said he intends to remain in the race. Trump broke with his party's leadership last week and on Sunday, when he offered two de facto endorsements of Moore's candidacy.
Trump reportedly sees the calls for Moore to exit the Alabama race as a version of the scathing response that the "Access Hollywood" tape prompted.
On the tape, which was uncovered a month before the presidential election, Trump is heard admitting to groping women without their consent.
"I'm automatically attracted to beautiful - I just start kissing them. It's like a magnet. Just kiss. I don't even wait. And when you're a star, they let you do it. You can do anything," Trump said on the tape, adding, "Grab 'em by the p---y. You can do anything."
He also discussed how he "did try and f---" a married woman.
"I moved on her like a b----. But I couldn't get there," Trump said on the tape. "And she was married. Then all of a sudden I see her, she's now got the big phony t--s."
After the tape came out, Trump admitted the voice was his and apologized for his comments, dismissing them as "locker room banter."
As the controversy unfolded, at least 16 women publicly accused Trump of varying degrees of sexual misconduct. He said the women were lying, and sometimes suggested they were not attractive enough to be sexually assaulted.
When critics pointed to his comments on the leaked tape as proof that he behaved inappropriately toward women, Trump repeated the claim that it was "locker room talk."