Corey Lewandowski, Trump Adviser, Is Accused of Sexual Harassment

Politics|Corey Lewandowski, Trump Adviser, Is Accused of Sexual Harassment

A donor to Donald J. Trump has accused the erstwhile president’s longtime governmental advisor Corey Lewandowski of making unwanted intersexual advances and touching her inappropriately astatine a meal successful Las Vegas connected Sunday night.

The donor, Trashelle Odom, made the allegations astir Mr. Lewandowski successful a connection that was archetypal reported connected Wednesday by Politico and that was aboriginal provided to The New York Times.

“He repeatedly touched maine inappropriately, said vile and disgusting things to me, stalked me, and made maine consciousness violated and fearful,” she said successful the connection astir the dinner. “I americium coming guardant due to the fact that helium needs to beryllium held accountable.”

Mrs. Odom was among a tiny radical of radical astatine the meal astatine the Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino, portion of an lawsuit held by the Victoria’s Voice Foundation, which focuses connected warring cause addiction. Mrs. Odom sat adjacent to Mr. Lewandowski, who leads Mr. Trump’s ace PAC. At the event, she said successful the statement, Mr. Lewandowski “bragged aggregate times astir however almighty helium is” and “claimed helium controls the erstwhile president.”

According to the Odom household lawyer, who declined to beryllium identified, Mr. Lewandowski repeatedly touched Mrs. Odom’s limb and her backside, grew assertive astatine assorted points and threw a portion astatine her erstwhile she made wide she was rebuffing him. In her statement, Mrs. Odom said she had feared for her safety.

Her husband, John Odom, an Idaho businessman, said successful a connection that the household was considering ineligible options. Mr. and Mrs. Odom would not talk straight to a newsman astir the allegations, and they person not yet filed a ailment with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.

Mr. Lewandowski did not remark connected the allegations, and his Las Vegas-based lawyer, David Z. Chesnoff, said lone that “accusations and rumor look to beryllium morphing by the infinitesimal and we volition not dignify them with a further response.”

One idiosyncratic who attended the dinner, who declined to beryllium identified for fearfulness of retribution, told The Times that Mrs. Odom’s relationship was accurate.

Mr. Trump, who often avoids nonstop interpersonal confrontation, has agelong been known to person a brushed spot for Mr. Lewandowski, and his aides did not respond to an email connected Wednesday seeking remark connected the Las Vegas brushwood and asking whether Mr. Lewandowski would stay astatine the ace PAC.

Also astatine the meal successful Las Vegas was Gov. Kristi Noem of South Dakota, whom Mr. Lewandowski has been advising for galore months.

Mr. Lewandowski was Mr. Trump’s archetypal run manager successful 2016, but acold from his last. He was fired successful June 2016 aft conflicts with Mr. Trump’s children and a bid of incidents that the Trump household disquieted had formed the campaigner successful a antagonistic light.

Earlier that year, Mr. Lewandowski was accused by Michelle Fields, astatine the clip a newsman for the right-wing website Breitbart, of forcibly yanking her distant from the campaigner aft a quality league successful Florida. Despite video of the incident, Mr. Lewandowski denied that thing inappropriate had happened, and Mr. Trump aggressively defended him and denounced the quality media’s sum of Ms. Fields’s allegation.

And successful November 2017, a Trump protagonist and vocalist named Joy Villa filed a complaint stating that Mr. Lewandowski had slapped her connected the buttocks during a enactment astatine the Trump International Hotel successful Washington. It is unclear what became of that complaint.

For months, respective of Mr. Trump’s advisers person privately complained that Mr. Lewandowski’s connections with the ace PAC and with Mr. Trump’s governmental orbit person helped him with his different clients, including Ms. Noem. With Mr. Trump retired of office, astir of his advisers present person clients extracurricular his contiguous world.