Stephen (Steve) Bannon, left, with Donald Trump Jr. (Getty)
The campaign CEO for Republican nominee Donald Trump was accused in divorce papers and a 20-year-old police report of physically attacking his ex-wife, according to The New York Post and Politico.
The New York Post says that Stephen Bannon’s ex-wife, Mary Louise Piccard, lodged the domestic abuse accusations in divorce papers.
Then, a day later, The Associated Press contended that Piccard alleged in court papers that “Bannon made anti-Semitic remarks when the two battled over sending their daughters to private school nearly a decade ago.” Piccard allegedly said in the court papers that Bannon, “had objected to sending their twin daughters to an elite Los Angeles academy because he ‘didn’t want the girls going to school with Jews,'” the AP said.
Bannon’s spokesperson responded that he has a great relationship with his ex-wife and their children, says Politico. The spokesperson also told Politico that Bannon was not interviewed by police in the domestic violence case and had pleaded “not guilty.” The Washington Times also reported on the accusations. Bannon’s spokesperson denied he made the anti-Semitic remarks, The Associated press said.
Politico says Bannon was charged in the case, but the charges were dropped when Bannon’s ex-wife did not appear in the case. The old case could prove problematic for the Trump campaign as new campaign chairwoman Kellyanne Conway – hired at the same time as Bannon to take over the campaign – was widely seen as trying to improve Trump’s image with women.
Politico has posted a copy of the police report in the case. See it here.
The divorce case dates back to the 1990s, according to The New York Post.
Bannon, the chairman for the conservative news site, Breitbart, recently became Trump’s campaign CEO.
Here’s what you need to know:
1. The Incident Allegedly Involved Physical Contact & Piccard Said Past Arguments Became Physical, Reports Contend
Trump’s new CEO Steve Bannon reportedly grabbed his ex-wife by the throat during a fight: t.co/29qPkOXh7s
According to Politico, a Santa Monica, Calif., police report says Piccard, who was then Bannon’s wife, “claimed he pulled at her neck and wrist during an altercation over their finances, and an officer reported witnessing red marks on her neck and wrist to bolster her account. Bannon also reportedly smashed the phone when she tried to call the police.”
According to the report, which Politico posted online, when Bannon’s wife said he should find another place to live, she said Bannon “laughed at her, and said he would never move out.”
The report continues, quoting Piccard as telling the officer: “she spit at him, and reached up to her from the driver’s seat of his car and grabbed her left wrist. He pulled her down as if he was trying to pull into the car, over the door,” the police report contends. It continues that Piccard alleged “Mr. Bannon grabbed at neck, also pulling her into the car. She said, that she started to fight back, striking at his face, so he would let go of her. After a short period of time she was able to get away from him.”
She ran into the house with him following her, the report contended Piccard alleged. “She told him she was calling 911 and she grabbed the portable phone as she headed for the living room where the twins were, she was dialing 911. When she got to the twins, Mr. Bannon jumped over her and the twins to grab the phone from her. Once he got the phone, he threw it across the room. After this Mr. Bannon left the house,” the police report alleges. The twins refers to the couple’s daughters.
The phone was in several pieces, the report said. “She complained of soreness to her neck. I saw red marks on her left wrist and the right side of her neck. These were photographed,” said the police report by the officer. Piccard declined an emergency protective order, the report says.
The police report said that Piccard alleged that “in the beginning of their relationship, she said they (sic) 3 or 4 arguements (sic) that became physical. And they have been going to counseling. There has not been any physical abuse in their arguments for about the past 4 years… said they have been arguing a lot, but no violence.”
2. Piccard Allegedly Accused Bannon of Using the ‘C’ Word & an Argument Ensued Over Money, The Report Says
Stephen K. Bannon looks at his computer to see who will be the next caller he will talk to while hosting Brietbart News Daily on SiriusXM Patriot at Quicken Loans Arena on July 20, 2016 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Getty)
The New York Post story quotes (but doesn’t link to) purported divorce documents that allegedly said, “I took the phone to call the police and he grabbed the phone away from me throwing it across the room, and breaking it as he [was] screaming that I was a ‘crazy f—ing c–t!”
The report says Piccard said that on December 31, 1995, Mr. Bannon slept on the couch. On January 1, 1996, early in the morning she got up to feed their twins and “Mr. Bannon got upset at her for making some noise.”
At 8:15 a.m., Bannon started to leave, the report contends, so she “asked him for the American Express card, so she could go grocery shopping. He said she did not need it, just for her to write a check. He went out to his car and she followed. She asked him why he was playing these games with the money, and he said it was his money. She told him that maybe he should find another place to live, that she wanted a divorce,” the police report contends.
3. Police Were Called in the Incident & Bannon Was Charged & the Charges Were Dropped, Reports Say
Stephen K. Bannon. (Getty)
According to Politico, Bannon “was charged with misdemeanor domestic violence, battery and dissuading a witness following an incident in early January 1996, though the case was ultimately dismissed.”
According to the police report, which Politico posted online, the officer wrote that he “received a radio call…of a 911 hang up, where the telephone operator verified that the phone was off the hook.” Parts of the report are redacted.
The report continues that “she appeared as if she was very upset and had been crying. I saw that her eyes were red and watery. She first said, ‘Oh, thank you, you are here. How did you know to come.’”
The officer told Piccard about the 911 hang up call, and the woman “started to cry, and it took 3-4 minutes for her to calm down,” the police report alleges.
The New York Post alleges that Piccard said she was “threatened” that if she went to court she would end up with no money and no way to support her children.
The Daily Beast says Bannon retained a lawyer in the case.
4. Bannon & Piccard Are the Parents of Twin Daughters Born Just Days After Their Wedding
Stephen K. Bannon talks with Peter Schweizer, author of “Clinton Cash” while hosting Brietbart News Daily on SiriusXM Patriot at Quicken Loans Arena on July 20, 2016 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Getty)
The police report says that Piccard told the police she had just married Bannon on April 15, 1995 (the police report is dated January 1, 1996.)
She said that her twins were born three days after the wedding. “Her husband and father of the twins is Stephen Bannon,” the report says, adding that Piccard said “she has been seeing Mr. Bannon for approximately 6 ½ years.”
Bloomberg said Bannon’s daughter, Maureen, was “a West Point grad and lieutenant in the 101st Airborne Division.”
As to the accusations of anti-Semitic comments, the AP says Piccard said in the court filing, “He said he doesn’t like Jews and that he doesn’t like the way they raise their kids to be ‘whiney brats.'”
5. Bannon Was the CEO of the Breitbart Conservative Site & Also Served in the Navy
Read the Breitbart News statement on Steve Bannon’s new role as Trump campaign CEO: t.co/aASPtnQQgu
Before joining the Trump campaign, Bannon ran Breitbart, which is a conservative news site.
Hillary Clinton’s campaign has tried to make Bannon an issue by releasing an ad that links both Bannon and Trump to the KKK and white supremacists.
Bannon is a former banker for Goldman Sachs, says Bloomberg. Bannon also previously served in the U.S. Navy.
In a profile story, Bloomberg said of Bannon: “He’s been a naval officer, investment banker, minor Hollywood player, and political impresario.”
Bannon is 62-years-old.