Beatrice Cowell, a former Swiss model and beauty queen, accused Donald Trump of raping her at the Plaza Hotel in New York when she was 24 years old. This claim was made in a report by US House Democrats on Trump's communications with Jeffrey Epstein; the report was released just a week before the midterm elections. Cowell previously accused Trump of inappropriate touching, but now he also claimed rape. The White House denied these accusations and called them "a desperate attempt by radical Democrats to divert the attention of Americans from the growing trend of Republican support, which stems from the historic achievements of President Trump."