Former Trump aide Lewandowski makes deal with prosecutors to avoid misdemeanor charge
By Gabby Orr, CNN
Corey Lewandowski, one of Donald Trump’s former top campaign lieutenants, notched a deal with Las Vegas prosecutors over a misdemeanor battery charge stemming from his alleged sexual harassment of a major Republican donor’s wife in 2021.
Lewandowski, 49, was publicly accused in September 2021 of making unwanted sexual advances toward Trashelle Odom, who is married to Idaho businessman John Odom, during a charity event in Las Vegas. At the time, Odom told Politico, which first reported both the allegations against Lewandowski and his deal with prosecutors, that Trump’s former senior campaign adviser “stalked” her during the event, made inappropriate physical contact, and spoke to her in sexually graphic terms.
Soon after, Trump’s super PAC announced that it was cutting ties with Lewandowski and would instead install former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi at the helm of the fundraising committee he had previously ran.
In a statement to CNN, Lewandowski’s attorneys said their client had reached a deal that “did not require any admissions” of wrongdoing.
“A misdemeanor case was filed but we are pleased to say that the matter has been resolved,” attorneys David Chesnoff and Richard Schonfeld said. “The Court set conditions that Mr. Lewandowski will fulfill and the case will ultimately be dismissed.”
Lewandowski has never publicly responded to Odom’s allegations and did not return a request for comment.
Under the agreement, Lewandowski must complete an impulse-training course, serve 50 hours of community service, pay a $1,000 fine and “remain out of trouble,” said a person familiar with the matter. The case against him will be dismissed in one year if he completes these conditions, this person said.
Despite being removed from Trump’s PAC last year, Lewandowski has remained inside the former President’s orbit. He periodically speaks with Trump himself and pops up at his Mar-a-Lago estate for events like the debut of right-wing filmmaker Dinesh D’Souza’s “2000 Mules” — a conspiracy-laden documentary about the 2020 election — earlier this spring. Lewandowski also found work on at least two Republican campaigns following Odom’s allegations, serving as an adviser to Ohio Senate hopeful Jane Timken, who lost her primary, and Massachusetts gubernatorial candidate Geoff Diehl.
Still, the former Trump aide has spent the past year operating under the radar. He has not tweeted since last September and does not currently appear to be working on any major 2022 midterm races.
Lewandowski also faced simple battery charges in Palm Beach County related to an encounter with then-Breitbart reporter Michelle Fields during Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, though the charges were eventually dropped.
“Well, obviously I’m very pleased,” Lewandowski told CNN when the charges were dropped in 2016.
The-CNN-Wire
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