New York (CNN) The New York Post's former top editor, a supporter of President Trump and an old lieutenant of Rupert Murdoch who returned to the conservative tabloid as an adviser in early 2019, ordered the removal of a story about writer Jean Carroll's sexual assault allegations against President Trump, two people familiar with the matter told CNN Business.

The Post's story about Carroll's sexual assault allegations was mysteriously scrubbed from the tabloid's website on Friday afternoon. The link to the story, which had been written by reporter Joe Tacopino, directed readers to a dead or 404 page.

A wire story by the Associated Press which had been published on the Post's website was also removed.

Carroll accused Trump of sexually assaulting her in an excerpt of her forthcoming book published by New York magazine on Friday. She said Trump penetrated her against her will in the fitting room of Bergdorf Goodman in the 1990s after asking her to try on a piece of lingerie. Trump denied the claim in a Friday statement.

A spokeswoman for the Post declined to comment. The spokeswoman did not dispute the account of events CNN Business provided to her, nor did she provide an explanation for the removal of the stories about Carroll's accusations.

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