After being accused by Trump-supporting Joy Villa of slapping her twice on the buttocks, Corey Lewandowski ran to Fox Business for some Republican Rehab from fellow sexual-assault accussee, Charles Payne.
As Raw Story noted, Politico broke the story last week:
Joy Villa – who drew headlines for wearing a “Make America Great Again” dress to the Grammys earlier this year – was celebrating the president’s first year in office at a holiday party at the Trump International Hotel in Washington in late November when Lewandowski slapped her behind. After she objected, he dismissed her concerns and slapped her behind again, Villa said in an interview Friday.
[…]
In the moment, Villa said, she confronted him. “I said, ‘Watch it.’ Half-joking, I said, ‘I can report you for sexual harassment.’”
Lewandowski’s response, she said, was almost as shocking as the original slap.
“He said, ‘Go ahead, I work in the private sector,’” Villa recalled. “Then he smacks my ass again.” Villa’s recollection of the incident was corroborated by a friend who witnessed the exchange.
Today, Associated Press reported that Villa has filed charges against Lewandowski.
It’s no surprise that Lewandowski should run to Fox. In addition to providing a very friendly platform for him, the network has also been very friendly to a host of sexual abusers. Despite the network’s claims to have reformed, just a few weeks ago, Rupert Murdoch, executive co-chairman of Fox’s parent company infuriated women at Fox by dismissing allegations of sexual misconduct as “nonsense.”
The choice of shows Lewandowski visited was rich, too. Lewandowski visited Varney & Co., a Fox Business Network show. It was guest hosted today by Charles Payne. You may recall that Payne has been accused of raping his mistress, conservative pundit Scottie Nell Hughes. Payne was subsequently cleared in an internal investigation. But Hughes has sued and vows to keep fighting. With O'Reilly gone, it's hard to think of any host likely to be more sympathetic to Lewandowski.
On Varney & Co., Payne asked Lewandowski to “respond to” Villa’s accusation. It was a neat way of seeming to confront Lewandowski without actually having to ask him, “Did you do it?”
The dance continued as Lewandowski seemed to claim innocence without actually saying so and Payne seemed to suggest Villa should be believed while actually giving Lewandowski an opening to malign her motives:
LEWANDOWSKI: Well, Charles, I think as someone who’s been through this, you understand that there is a due process and there is a process which they will go through to determine a person’s innocence, which I think you’ve been through and you understand it and you respect it.
PAYNE: Yeah, I think everyone understands and respects it but a lot of people are wondering why someone who is so close to President Trump as you are and someone who’s been rooting for President Trump like Joy has, what would motivate her? What do you think is motivating her with these accusations where she says she has at least two witnesses?
LEWANDOWSKI: You know, Charles, that’s a question for her. I’m not here to speak for Joy. What I am here to do is to speak for me and what I am going to do is to let the process play forward, just as you did when you were accused of sexual harassment in your own case.
Actually, Payne has been accused of rape. But it’s not surprising he didn’t correct the record.
As for Lewandowski, this is (at least) the second assault charge that has been filed against him in less than two years. In April, 2016, reporter Michelle Fields accused him of battery after he grabbed her at a Trump campaign event. You can probably guess which side Fox took.
Watch Lewandowski not deny Villa’s allegations below, from the December 27, 2017 Varney & Co.
(H/T Raw Story)