POLITICS | Thu Oct 13, 2016 | 1:53pm EDT

New York Times stands by Trump story, rebuts claim of libel

The New York Times said on Thursday that it stands by its story about two women who say Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump made inappropriate advances, and rebutted claims by a lawyer for Trump that the story is libelous.

"Nothing in our article has had the slightest effect on the reputation that Mr. Trump, through his own words and actions, has already created for himself," David McCraw, vice president and assistant general counsel for the newspaper, said in a letter to Trump's lawyer.

If Trump disagrees that the story was libelous, "we welcome the opportunity to have a court set him straight," McCraw said in the letter.

(Reporting by Roberta Rampton; Editing by Jonathan Oatis)