Four women say New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman engaged in nonconsensual physical conduct against them, the New Yorker reported Monday.
Two of the women, Michelle Manning Barish and Tanya Selvaratnam, said Schneiderman hit them over the course of romantic or sexual relationships. Per the report:
They allege that he repeatedly hit them, often after drinking, frequently in bed and never with their consent. Manning Barish and Selvaratnam categorize the abuse he inflicted on them as ‘assault.’ They did not report their allegations to the police at the time, but both say that they eventually sought medical attention after having been slapped hard across the ear and face, and also choked.
Both women also said Schneiderman threatened to kill them if they broke up with him. Selvaratnam said the attorney general threatened he could have her followed and tap her phones. A third woman said the he subjected her to physical abuse, and a fourth said he slapped her on the face when she denied an advance from him.
Schneiderman denies the women’s allegations.
“In the privacy of intimate relationships, I have engaged in role-playing and other consensual sexual activity,” he said. “I have not assaulted anyone. I have never engaged in nonconsensual sex, which is a line I would not cross.”
His ex-wife, Jennifer Cunningham, said she found the allegations “impossible” to believe. Cunningham is a former lobbyist and worked on Schneiderman’s campaigns in 2010 and 2014.
“I’ve known Eric for nearly 35 years as a husband, father and friend,” she said. “These allegations are completely inconsistent with the man I know, who has always been someone of the highest character, outstanding values and a loving father.”
Schneiderman, a Democrat, has been a vocal supporter of the #MeToo movement. In April, he tweeted praise to the New York Times and the New Yorker for reporting on “the brave women and men who spoke up about the sexual harassment they endured at the hands of powerful men.”
https://twitter.com/AGSchneiderman/status/985984777596612610
In 2013, President Donald Trump compared Schneiderman to Anthony Weiner and Eliot Spitzer, “both New York Democrats with national political ambitions brought down by sex charges,” according to the Washington Times.
Weiner is gone, Spitzer is gone – next will be lightweight A.G. Eric Schneiderman. Is he a crook? Wait and see, worse than Spitzer or Weiner
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 11, 2013
Update 9:01pm CT, May 7: New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman resigned on Monday following the New Yorker’s report detailing allegations from women who say he physically abused them, according to CNN.
“It’s been my great honor and privilege to serve as Attorney General for the people of the State of New York,” Schneiderman said in a statement. “In the last several hours, serious allegations, which I strongly contest, have been made against me. While these allegations are unrelated to my professional conduct or the operations of the office, they will effectively prevent me from leading the office’s work at this critical time. I therefore resign my office, effective at the close of business on May 8, 2018.”
H/T the Hill