DOJ Sues Omarosa, Who Blames White House

Her lawyer says unjust lawsuit is retaliation
By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 26, 2019 7:11 AM CDT
DOJ Sues Omarosa, Who Blames White House
Former White House staffer Omarosa Manigault Newman listens during an interview with the AP on Aug. 14, 2018, in New York.   (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

The Justice Department wants $50,000 from Omarosa Manigault Newman as penalty for failing to file a financial disclosure report following her White House tenure. The former assistant to the president and director of communications for the Office of Public Liaison, now a staunch Trump critic, didn't file the report required of employees who leave government jobs though she was sent a bunch of reminders, according to a lawsuit filed Tuesday. Manigault Newman's lawyer, John Phillips, disputes the DOJ's claim that she acted "knowingly and willfully" in not filing the report, reports USA Today. Indeed, he says the White House still holds the required documents but is using the department to retaliate against his client. Last August, she published an unflattering tell-all book about her time working with Trump, who responded with the usual insults.

Phillips says Manigault Newman requested seven boxes of documents seized after her December 2017 firing in "several calls and emails" to White House staffers. The White House agreed to provide the documents on May 10, well past the deadline to file, but still hasn't done so, Phillips adds. On May 13, Vox reported that Manigault Newman had filed documents to join a discrimination lawsuit against Trump and his campaign. "I've never witnessed such egregious violations as I did during my time under the leadership of Donald Trump and Mike Pence," she said, claiming she was paid less than a male staffer for equal work while serving as the campaign's director of African American outreach. Her book Unhinged describes the Trump White House as "the most chaotic, outrageous." (Manigault Newman says she holds proof Trump wanted to silence her.)

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