Beatrice Keul has given House Judiciary Democratic staff a substantially more serious account of her encounter with Donald Trump in 1993: she says he raped her in a suite at New York’s Plaza Hotel. Her account also places Jeffrey Epstein at the event and names Paolo Zampolli as the man Trump allegedly promised would arrange her American visa.
The central new disclosure is explicit. Keul previously described resisting an attempted rape. In their October 26 report, committee staff say that, through extensive discussions over several weeks, she disclosed a completed rape and additional details she had previously withheld. This is a new allegation within an encounter she had already publicly described. House Judiciary Democrats’ report, pp. 16–19
The offers before the alleged assault
Keul, a Swiss model and financial-services professional, traveled to the United States for the Donald J. Trump American Dream Pageant in November 1993.
At a press luncheon at the Plaza, she says Trump approached her with the greeting, “Finally we meet Ms. Keul,” pronouncing her surname “cool.” During a conversation lasting at least 15 minutes, he offered to arrange a visa and personally ensure her admission to New York University.
When she said she could handle her own visa, she recalls him insisting: “No no, my friend Paolo will take care of that.”
The report identifies “Paolo” as Paolo Zampolli.
According to Keul, Epstein approached immediately after Trump stepped away. His introduction: “I’m Jeffrey, Don’s best friend.”
For at least ten minutes, she says, Epstein spoke with her while looking toward Trump, who remained across the room. Epstein offered a future trip to Mar-a-Lago, telling her: “We organize many parties with Don.” Flights and accommodations would be covered.
“The show must go on”
Later that day, Keul says, a Trump representative escorted her upstairs for a private meeting. She believed it could advance her career and education.
Inside the suite, she alleges, Trump grabbed her from behind and raped her, tearing her dress and leaving her bleeding and bruised.
Afterward, she says, he sat her on the edge of the bed, repeated the visa and university offers, and made her promise to remain silent.
“The show must go on,” she recalls him saying.
Keul told staff she completed the pageant in a terrified “daze.” Her passport had been taken on arrival, and she feared that requesting its early return would reveal something was wrong. The report does not identify who held it.
During the pageant, she says, she and four other models were also summoned to a private audition with Elite founder John Casablancas, who made similar promises to take care of her.
She returned to Switzerland and declined another Trump-sponsored pageant in Hawaii. Months later, she says, Trump called her there, again offering a visa and NYU admission. She declined.
Where Zampolli enters
The alleged reference to Zampolli gives the visa promise a specific person to investigate. He later sponsored Melania Knauss’s modeling work visa and worked for the Trump Organization. Separately, Zampolli and Epstein pursued an unsuccessful bid to acquire Elite’s New York business in 2004.
The committee report also cites FBI accounts from women whose paths to Epstein passed through Zampolli’s modeling agency. One former model described Epstein examining portfolios at its office before offering her work.
These connections establish subjects for further questioning. Keul’s account does not establish that Zampolli arranged her visa, witnessed the alleged assault or knew about it. Zampolli has acknowledged Epstein visited his agency while rejecting allegations of involvement or collaboration.
Keul supplied photographs documenting her presence at the pageant and contact with Trump. Earlier New York Times reporting also identified a friend who recalled her describing the Plaza episode around 2004. Neither independently establishes the alleged rape.
The White House denies the allegations. “None of these allegations are true,” spokeswoman Lauren Bis told Us Weekly.
The new account supplies concrete investigative leads: the representative who escorted Keul upstairs, the handling of her passport, the promised visa arrangements and the subsequent telephone call. Those details give investigators specific people, records and recollections to pursue.
