Unclear If Trump Knew About Past Domestic Violence Charges Against New Campaign CEO
"I don't know what he [Trump] was aware of ..." campaign manager says.
— -- Donald Trump's campaign manager said today she did not know whether the Republican presidential nominee was aware of the domestic violence charges reportedly filed two decades ago against new Trump campaign CEO Stephen Bannon.
"I don't know what he [Trump] was aware of with respect to a 20-year-old claim where the charges were dropped,” Kellyanne Conway said on “Good Morning America.”
Bannon was "charged with misdemeanor domestic violence, battery and dissuading a witness following an incident in early January 1996," the website Politico reported Thursday.
The case was ultimately dismissed, according to documents obtained and posted online by Politico.
The court file has not been released yet, but the L.A. County Criminal Court’s database confirms that the criminal charges against Bannon were filed and ultimately dismissed. It does not give details, but Bannon’s spokeswoman, Alexandra Preate, told ABC News today that the charges were dropped in August 1996 because of “witness unavailability.”
In the complaint obtained by Politico, Bannon's then-wife said he “pulled at her neck and wrist” and smashed the phone when she tried to call the police, after a dispute over finances.
Responding today on Bannon’s behalf, spokeswoman Preate told ABC News that he has a great relationship with his ex-wife and their children.
Bannon's defense attorney, Steven Mandell, said, "No comment on the record."
Conway did not elaborate this morning on “GMA.”
Hillary Clinton attempted to use Bannon’s role in the campaign Thursday to tie Trump to the so-called alt-right, an ideology often associated with efforts to preserve “white identity,” and oppose multiculturalism and globalization.
Breitbart News Network, a U.S. news and opinion website founded in 2007 by conservative entrepreneur Andrew Beitbart for which Bannon served as an executive chairman, has been vocal in its promotion of Trump throughout the primary and general election seasons, and is frequently associated with the “alt-right” movement.