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Trump Campaign CEO Steven Bannon Was Previously Accused Of Domestic Violence
By
Jen Chung
Published Aug 26, 2016
Modified Aug 26, 2016
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By
Jen Chung
Published Aug 26, 2016
Modified Aug 26, 2016
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Last week, Donald Trump tried to reset his campaign by appointing Breitbart CEO Steve Bannon as his new campaign chief executive. Yesterday, it was revealed that Bannon was accused of battering his second wife during an argument, which the police learned about because of a hang-up 911 call.
The incident occurred in 1996 in Santa Monica, California, between Bannon, who was then working for an investment firm in Beverly Hills, and his then-wife Mary Louise Piccard. The couple had only been married for seven months, but had twin daughter infants at the time. Politico reports:
According to the police report, on New Year’s morning 1996, Bannon’s then-wife asked for a credit card to go shopping, and they argued over whether she should just write a check. This quickly turned into a bigger argument about the couple’s finances and future.
"She told him that maybe he should find another place to live, that she wanted a divorce. [REDACTED] said he laughed at her, and said he would never move out,” the report states.
Bannon had gone out to their car, followed by his then-wife, the report says. She then spat at him, and Bannon “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 [her] into the car, over the door.""[REDACTED] said 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,” the report states.
The ex-wife then entered the house and said she was calling 911. She was dialing the number when, the report states, Bannon “jumped over her and the twins to grab the phone from her. Once he got the phone, he threw it across the room,” and then left the house.
"[REDACTED] found the phone in several pieces and could not use it. 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,” the police report states, adding that the ex-wife declined an emergency protective order.
Piccard said that Bannon threatened her after the incident. According to the NY Post , Bannon's lawyer allegedly "told her she 'would have no money [and] no way to support the children' if the case went to trial. Bannon then told Piccard to skip town. He said 'that if I wasn’t in town they couldn’t serve me and I wouldn’t have to go to court,' she claimed in [a divorce] document... '“He also told me that if I went to court he and his attorney would make sure that I would be the one who was guilty. I was told that I could go anywhere in the world.'"
Piccard said in the divorce documents, "Because I was not present at the trial, the case was dismissed," and said that Bannon's lawyer told her when she and their daughters could return.
The divorce papers Piccard filed also accused Bannon of spanking their young daughters. She told the Post, "I have no comment and neither does my daughter." A Bannon spokesperson said, "Steve has a great relationship with his ex-wife and his twins."
Yesterday, Hillary Clinton questioned the hiring of Bannon, noting his history of fomenting misogynistic, nationalist views. But, hey, Bannon also hates the Republican establishment and he's going to let Trump be Trump so everything is just fine with Trump's vetting process.
Tagged
domestic violence
donald trump
election 2016
steve bannon
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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