Trump's Lost His Voice - Again!
A top republican and good friend of a Donald Trump claims that allegations of sexual misconduct against him are "preposterous" yet pays one of his accusers $7.5 million in an out of court settlement.
Steve Wynn also has the cheek to blame his ex-wife for his troubles, as if she could possibly have anything to do with dozens of young female employees coming forward to complain about his behaviour.
Meanwhile Trump appears to have lost his voice again along with the Republican Party which has accepted Wynn's resignation as its finance chair and chief fundraiser.
Steve Wynn: US casino mogul quits as Republican finance chair
Image copyright - GETTY IMAGES Image caption - Steve Wynn is a major figure in the casino world
US casino mogul Steve Wynn has resigned as finance chair of the Republican National Committee (RNC) amid sexual harassment allegations.
A Wall Street Journal report on Friday alleged that the 76-year-old billionaire harassed massage therapists and forced one staff member to have sex with him.
Mr Wynn has denied wrongdoing, calling the stories "preposterous".
RNC chair Ronna McDaniel told US media she had accepted his resignation.
Mr Wynn has blamed his ex-wife, whom he is fighting in court, for the "slander".
"The instigation of these accusations is the continued work of my ex-wife Elaine Wynn, with whom I am involved in a terrible and nasty lawsuit," the billionaire said in a statement that his public relations team sent to the BBC on Friday.
US casino mogul Steve Wynn has resigned as finance chair of the Republican National Committee (RNC) amid sexual harassment allegations.
A Wall Street Journal report on Friday alleged that the 76-year-old billionaire harassed massage therapists and forced one staff member to have sex with him.
Mr Wynn has denied wrongdoing, calling the stories "preposterous".
RNC chair Ronna McDaniel told US media she had accepted his resignation.
Mr Wynn has blamed his ex-wife, whom he is fighting in court, for the "slander".
"The instigation of these accusations is the continued work of my ex-wife Elaine Wynn, with whom I am involved in a terrible and nasty lawsuit," the billionaire said in a statement that his public relations team sent to the BBC on Friday.
What he is accused of
According to the Wall Street Journal, which said it had interviewed dozens of people who worked with Mr Wynn, he is accused of engaging in a pattern of abuse in which he often harassed massage therapists while alone in his private office.
The gambling industry giant paid $7.5m (£5.2m) to one manicurist who alleged she had been forced into sex by Mr Wynn, the paper claims citing court documents.
According to the Wall Street Journal, which said it had interviewed dozens of people who worked with Mr Wynn, he is accused of engaging in a pattern of abuse in which he often harassed massage therapists while alone in his private office.
The gambling industry giant paid $7.5m (£5.2m) to one manicurist who alleged she had been forced into sex by Mr Wynn, the paper claims citing court documents.
Why the US has so many sexual harassment cases in the US?
Female employees would fake appointments in order to avoid seeing him, or enlist others to pretend to be their assistants in order to avoid being alone with him.
Some would even hide in bathrooms or closets if they heard he was coming to their salon, the paper claimed.
Female employees would fake appointments in order to avoid seeing him, or enlist others to pretend to be their assistants in order to avoid being alone with him.
Some would even hide in bathrooms or closets if they heard he was coming to their salon, the paper claimed.
Democrats attack Republican 'silence'
Mr Wynn is also a Republican Party donor and fundraiser.
After harassment allegations were made against Hollywood executive producer Harvey Weinstein last year, Ms McDaniel and other leading Republicans called for the Democratic Party to return his donations.
Now some Democrats are asking if the same rules should apply regarding allegations against Mr Wynn.
The Democratic National Committee has attacked the RNC for remaining silent.
In an October statement, Ms McDaniel wrote: "If Democrats and the DNC truly stand up for women like they say they do, then returning this dirty money should be a no brainer."
Image copyright - GETTY IMAGES Image caption -Steve Wynn and second wife, Andrea Hissom, at President Trump's inauguration
Who is Steve Wynn?
- The son of an East Coast bingo parlour operator, he is now worth an estimated $3.5bn, according to Forbes magazine
- He made his fortune in construction and operation of major Las Vegas casinos, including the Golden Nugget, The Mirage, Treasure Island and the Bellagio, all of which he later sold to MGM Grand Inc
- He has been locked in legal battles with his ex-wife, Elaine Wynn, for more than seven years. The pair co-founded Wynn Resorts
- He famously accidentally elbowed a hole in the middle of his Picasso painting when preparing to sell it for a record $139m (£74m) in 2016
Trump's Lost His Voice (25/01/18)
Donald Trump has had plenty to say about his political opponents in the Democratic Party who have been accused of serious acts of sexual misconduct and harassment.
But he seems to have lost his voice over the ghastly behaviour of Patrick Meehan (62), a Republican Senator from Pennsylvania who turned nasty after a young woman aide rejected his romantic overtures.
Meehan even had the cheek to use public money to settle the woman's complaint and blame her for 'leading him on'
What a complete asshole, if you ask me, but what does Amrica's leading Republican have to say.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/23/us/politics/patrick-meehan-sexual-misconduct-complaint.html
Under Fire for Harassment, Congressman Says Aide ‘Invited’ Behavior
By KENNETH P. VOGEL and KATIE ROGERS - New York Times
Representative Patrick Meehan, Republican of Pennsylvania, last week in Coraopolis, Pa., after a trip with President Trump. CreditDoug Mills/The New York Times
WASHINGTON — Under fire for using taxpayer money to settle a sexual misconduct complaint from a former aide, Representative Patrick Meehan, Republican of Pennsylvania, said Tuesday that the woman “specifically invited” his intimate communications, and that he was emotionally wounded when she filed a complaint against him.
Mr. Meehan denied crossing the line into impropriety, but said in an interview that when the woman told him last year that she had started a relationship with someone outside the office, he “didn’t respond to it as well as I would like to have.”
He said he believed his attempt to make amends — a handwritten letter in which he called her “a complete partner to me” — was meant to be a sign of respect.
“That I would find later that that was not something that she was comfortable with, really hurts me,” Mr. Meehan said. “This was a person who specifically invited communication with me so that she would be able to have the ability to be there for me.”
The New York Times reported that Mr. Meehan, 62, a married father of three, had entered into a confidential agreement to settle the complaint brought by the aide, who is decades his junior. She left the office after filing a complaint alleging that Mr. Meehan became hostile after she rebuffed his romantic overtures, sources familiar with the situation told The Times.
Weinstein for President! (29/10/17)
The latest edition of Private Eye, the UK's best and only fortnightly satirical magazine, has a great front cover proclaiming that Hollywood has disowned the shamed Harvey Weinstein.
But the sting's in the tail, as ever in Private Eye, as a downcast Weinstein bemoans his fate with the crestfallen comment that:
"The only job I'll get now is being President"
Now that is funny.
Price Predators Pay (22/10/17)
Rob Reiner on Twitter had the following observation to make about the 'price' that powerful men pay for being accused of sexual assault.
Harvey Weinstein - fired from his own company and thrown out of Hollywood
Bill O'Reilly (former Fox News presenter) - settles claim and gets his job back
Donald Trump - becomes President
Now that is funny - and even funnier is the fact that one of these men is a long-time Democrat supporter while the other two are well known Republicans.
Powerful Men and Sexual Predators (21/10/17)
The Week magazine raises the issue of powerful men as sexual predators with a front cover featuring Harvey Weinstein, Bill O'Reilly (formerly of Fox News) and last but not least Donald Trump.
Makes you think, or ought to a least.
Locker-Room Banter? (18/01/17)
Speaking at a press conference in the Kremlin the other day, Russian President Vladimir Putin had this to say about the incoming American President Donald Trump:
"This is an adult (Donald Trump) and, moreover, a man who for many years has organised beauty contests. He socialised with the most beautiful women in the world. I can hardly imagine he rushed to the hotel to meet our girls of lower social responsibility - even though they are the best in the world, of course."
Now you might put this kind of nonsense down as juvenile 'locker-room' banter, as Donald Trump has done himself, of course.
But if you ask me, President Putin's comments about Russian prostitutes being of "lower social responsibility" are hugely demeaning, particularly as he goes on to boast that "our girls......are the best in the world."
By the way it's worth remembering that while Donald Trump claims to be far too smart to be caught out by sophisticated spying equipment during his stay in Moscow, he was exposed for his "Grab 'em by the pussy" comments while wearing a lapel microphone while doing a TV show with the NBC presenter Billy Bush.
Sexual Predator (10/10/16)
"Grab them by the pussy" is locker-room banter according to Donald Trump, but it's not the kind of foul language or ugly mindset that you'd expect from a professional person never mind someone aspiring to become President of the United States.
So the race for the White House has been dragged into the world of sexual predators by the unguarded comments of the Republican nominee while his 'partner in crime', a TV presenter named Billy Bush, has been suspended by the NBC Today programme.
NBC has said there is "simply no excuse for Billy's behaviour and language on that tape", yet Trump carries on after issuing a perfunctory apology which completely ingress the fact that he was in a professional setting at the time and nowhere near a locker-room.
To their credit most of the Bush family have said they will not be voting for this buffoon and while Trump's poll ratings are taking a well-deserved hit, especially among women voters, I suspect there's much more to come in the days ahead.
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-37605883
Billy Bush suspended by NBC after Trump tape emerges
BBC - Entertainment & Arts
Image copyright AP Image caption - Billy Bush has said that he is "very sorry" for the 2005 remarks
US TV host Billy Bush has been suspended from NBC's Today show after a video tape emerged in which he and Donald Trump made lewd comments.
Today executive Noah Oppenheim wrote in a memo to the morning show's staff that there is "simply no excuse for Billy's language and behaviour on that tape".
Mr Bush has said he was "embarrassed and ashamed" at the remarks.
US presidential candidate Mr Trump has also apologised for the obscene comments made in the 2005 tape.
In the video, Mr Trump was on a bus talking to Mr Bush - then host of NBC's Access Hollywood - ahead of a segment they were about to record.
Mr Trump says "you can do anything" to women "when you're a star" and also brags about trying to grope and kiss women.
Mr Bush tells Mr Trump at one point "the Donald has scored" and also comments on a woman's "good legs".
US TV host Billy Bush has been suspended from NBC's Today show after a video tape emerged in which he and Donald Trump made lewd comments.
Today executive Noah Oppenheim wrote in a memo to the morning show's staff that there is "simply no excuse for Billy's language and behaviour on that tape".
Mr Bush has said he was "embarrassed and ashamed" at the remarks.
US presidential candidate Mr Trump has also apologised for the obscene comments made in the 2005 tape.
In the video, Mr Trump was on a bus talking to Mr Bush - then host of NBC's Access Hollywood - ahead of a segment they were about to record.
Mr Trump says "you can do anything" to women "when you're a star" and also brags about trying to grope and kiss women.
Mr Bush tells Mr Trump at one point "the Donald has scored" and also comments on a woman's "good legs".
Image copyrightAPImage caption - Mr Trump has said the words "don't reflect" who he is
The presenter, who is the first cousin of former President George W Bush, has since said: "It's no excuse, but this happened 11 years ago - I was younger, less mature, and acted foolishly in playing along. I'm very sorry."
Top Republicans have condemned Mr Trump for the comments. His election rival Hillary Clinton called them "horrific".
The Republican party nominee has said "these words don't reflect who I am... I apologise".
Bush joined the Today team in August, having been anchor of Access Hollywood since 2009 and co-host of Access Hollywood Live since 2010.
Mr Oppenheim said that there would be a "further review" of the matter and did not say how long Mr Bush would be suspended for.
The presenter, who is the first cousin of former President George W Bush, has since said: "It's no excuse, but this happened 11 years ago - I was younger, less mature, and acted foolishly in playing along. I'm very sorry."
Top Republicans have condemned Mr Trump for the comments. His election rival Hillary Clinton called them "horrific".
The Republican party nominee has said "these words don't reflect who I am... I apologise".
Bush joined the Today team in August, having been anchor of Access Hollywood since 2009 and co-host of Access Hollywood Live since 2010.
Mr Oppenheim said that there would be a "further review" of the matter and did not say how long Mr Bush would be suspended for.
