Corey Lewandowski, a member of Donald Trump’s inner circle, has been removed as chair of the Make America Great Again Action super PAC after a GOP donor accused him of “stalking” her at a charity event and making unwanted sexual advances, including inappropriate touching.
“Corey Lewandowski will be going on to other endeavors and we very much want to thank him for his service. He will no longer be associated with Trump World,” said Taylor Budowich, a Trump spokesperson.
In a statement to POLITICO, Trashelle Odom said the incident took place on Sunday night at the Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino, where the Victoria’s Voice Foundation, an organization dedicated to fighting drug addiction, was holding an event. “He repeatedly touched me inappropriately, said vile and disgusting things to me, stalked me, and made me feel violated and fearful. I am coming forward because he needs to be held accountable.”
POLITICO adds, “Four people who were first-hand witnesses at the event corroborated Odom’s allegations.”
Odom said Lewandowski “bragged multiple times about how powerful he is” and “claimed he controls the former president.”
In a separate statement to The Washington Post, Odom said “Corey claimed that he controls access to the former president. He said he is in charge of the donors and the Super PAC. . . . He also made it clear that if he was crossed, he has the power to destroy anyone and ruin their lives.”
The New York Times add:
According to the Odom family lawyer, who declined to be identified, Mr. Lewandowski repeatedly touched Mrs. Odom’s leg and her backside, grew aggressive at various points and threw a drink at her when she made clear she was rebuffing him. In her statement, Mrs. Odom said she had feared for her safety.
“Corey called me on Monday evening,” John Odom, Trashelle’s husband, said in a statement. “He sounded distraught and scared. He said he had been intoxicated. He was sorry for his actions, wanted to know how he could make it go away, and that he would do anything to make it right with Trashelle and our family.”
John Odom, a construction executive based in Idaho, said he wants “accountability now” and that the family is exploring their legal options.
“Accusations and rumors appear to be morphing by the minute and we will not dignify them with a further response,” David Chesnoff and Richard Schonfeld, Lewandowski’s attorneys, said in a statement.
Pam Bondi, a former Florida attorney general and Trump adviser, will now oversee the super PAC Lewandowski ran.
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, who Lewandowski advises, was also at the Las Vegas event. On Thursday, she too announced that she was cutting ties with the beleaguered political operative.
“Corey was always a volunteer, never paid a dime (campaign or official). He will not be advising the Governor in regard to the campaign or official office,” said Ian Fury, a Noem spokesman.
Lewandowski, who briefly managed Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, is no stranger to accusations of lewd behavior. The Times provides context:
Mr. Lewandowski has often been at the center of controversy. In March 2016, he was accused by Michelle Fields, at the time a reporter for the right-wing website Breitbart, of forcibly yanking her away from the candidate after a news conference in Florida. Despite video of the incident, Mr. Lewandowski denied that anything inappropriate had happened, and Mr. Trump aggressively defended him and denounced the news media’s coverage of Ms. Fields’s allegation.
And in November 2017, a Trump supporter and singer named Joy Villa filed a complaint stating that Mr. Lewandowski had slapped her on the buttocks during a party at the Trump International Hotel in Washington. It is unclear what became of that complaint.
