Left-wing feminist attorney Lisa Bloom, who represented two of the women who made sexual harassment allegations against President Trump during the 2016 campaign, sought payoffs as high as six figures for her clients, according to the Hill.
From the beginning, Trump has denied any and all wrongdoing. Moreover, he has argued that the allegations were part of an overall plot to personally destroy his candidacy with lies.
The Hill obtained contracts and text messages that show Bloom sought to sell the stories of alleged victims to television outlets; one proposed deal included an offer of $750,000 to a woman who eventually declined to come forward. Bloom also sought to convince a donor to pay off the mortgage of a woman who did come forward.
“The women’s accounts were chronicled in contemporaneous contractual documents, emails and text messages,” the Hill reports, adding that this included “an exchange of texts between one woman and Bloom that suggested political action committees supporting Hillary Clinton were contacted during the effort.”
One of Trump’s most vocal accusers, makeup artist Jill Harth, received just under $30,000 from an unspecified donor to pay off her mortgage. Bloom also raised an additional $2,300 for Harth using GoFundMe.
Harth denies the payment was an incentive for her to come forward, even though she had withdrawn a harassment lawsuit against Trump in 1997. Harth is currently writing a book about her experience. The second woman, who did not come forward, also told the Hill that no one asked her to lie.
However, the Hill reports, on top of the payments, “texts and emails indicate Bloom held a strong dislike of Trump” and that “Bloom’s efforts to get alleged victims of sexual assault or harassment to come out against Trump intensified as Election Day 2016 approached”:
“Give us a clear sense of what you need and we will see if it we can get it,” Bloom texted the woman a week before Election Day.
“I’m scared Lisa. I can’t relocate. I don’t like taking other people’s money,” the woman wrote to Bloom.
“Ok let’s not do this then,” Bloom responded. “We are just about out of time anyway.”
The woman then texted back demanding to know why there was a deadline. “What does time have to do with this? Time to bury Trump??? You want my story to bury trump for what? Personal gain? See that ‘s why I have trust issues!!”
Bloom also asked this woman to delete a Facebook post that showed she supported Trump for president. “Otherwise the reporter will ask you how you could support him after what he did to you.”
Her allegation involves an unsolicited advance at a 1990s beauty contest.
The woman continued to ask for and receive better offers, from a $10,000 donation to her church to an eventual $780,000 for her. Then came the media offers:
“Outlets with which I have good relationships that may pay for your first on camera interview, revealing your name and face: Inside Edition, Dr. Phil, LawNewz.com,” Bloom texted the woman just weeks before Election Day. “My best estimate of what I could get for you would be $10-15,000 (less our 1/3 attorney fee).”
“If you are interested I would recommend Inside Edition or Dr. Phil as they are much bigger. Dr. Phil is doing a show on Trump accusers next Tuesday in LA and would fly you here and put you up in a nice hotel, and pay for your meals as well, with your daughter if you like,” Bloom’s text added. “Media moves very quickly so you need to decide and then once confirmed, you need to stick to it.”
Representatives of “Inside Edition” and “Dr. Phil” said they did not pay any Trump accusers for appearances last year.
After finally agreeing to go public, the woman ended up in the hospital. As Election Day approached, Bloom persisted and eventually raised her offer to $750,000. The woman declined.
Reached for comment, Bloom, who makes up to one-third of all monies received by her clients, “acknowledged she engaged in discussions to secure donations for women who made or considered making accusations against Trump before last year’s election.” She denies any wrongdoing.
Bloom’s mother, left-wing feminist Gloria Allred, also represented a number of Trump’s accusers.
Earlier this year, Bloom defended the accused serial rapist Harvey Weinstein, a longtime Democrat donor and friend of Bill and Hillary Clinton.
This week, as the media launched a cynical attempt to again bludgeon Trump with misconduct allegations litigated once already during the 2016 election, NBC’s Megyn Kelly interviewed a woman who accused Trump of asking for her phone number, another who accused Trump of groping her in front of the late Ray Charles (who was blind), and another who said Trump groped her on a passenger plane.
Follow John Nolte on Twitter @NolteNC. Follow his Facebook Page here.
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