Casino mogul Steve Wynn has resigned from his position as Republican National Committee (RNC) finance chairman one day after a Wall Street Journal report detailed allegations of his sexual harassment against former employees. According to Politico, Wynn, who President Donald Trump picked for the position, resigned Saturday.
“Today I accepted Steve Wynn’s resignation as Republican National Committee finance chair,” RNC chair Ronna Romney McDaniel told Politico. Romney had spoken to Trump about Wynn the morning prior to his resignation.
According to the Journal, more than 150 of Wynn’s current and former employees detailed decades of his sexual harassment and assault of female employees. Wynn has denied all of the allegations, calling the “idea” that he ever assaulted any woman “preposterous,” insisting that the surfacing of such accusations was the work of his ex-wife amid a divorce settlement. (Elaine Wynn’s attorney denied the insinuation.)
Since 2012, Steve Wynn has donated more than $2.5 million to the Republican Governors Association and has been a top donor to several Republican governor campaigns. He has also donated $411,000 to the National Republican Senatorial Committee, $248,000 to the RNC, and $100,000 to the National Republican Congressional Committee.
Employees who spoke to the Journal said Wynn would ask massage therapists and manicurists for sexual favors, and had female employees booking fake appointments and hiding just to avoid him. Wynn reportedly coerced one manicurist into taking her clothes off and having sex with him. The woman’s supervisor reported the assault to human resources, and the manicurist was paid a $7.5 million settlement, people familiar with the matter reportedly said.
“We find ourselves in a world where people can make allegations, regardless of the truth, and a person is left with the choice of weathering insulting publicity or engaging in multi-year lawsuits. It is deplorable for anyone to find themselves in this situation,” Wynn wrote in a statement.
H/T Politico