South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem has severed ties with Corey Lewandowski, after she denied having an affair with him and after Donald Trump fired him from his operations over allegations he made sexual advances towards a donor.
‘Corey was always a volunteer, never paid a dime (campaign or official),’ Noem spokesperson Ian Fury said, according to Politico. ‘He will not be advising the Governor in regard to the campaign or official office.’
Lewandowski had also been a top adviser to Noem, traveling the country with her in recent months as she rises to stardom within the Republican Party.
Lewandowski has been cast out of Trump world and beyond after Trashelle Odom, the wife of construction company executive John Odom, claimed that the married father of four touched her repeatedly while seated next to her, followed her around, touched her leg and buttocks, and ‘stalked’ her at a charity event held at a Las Vegas Benihana last weekend.
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem has severed ties with Corey Lewandowski, following a report that he sexually harassed a wealthy Trump donor. The pair are pictured at the Republican National Convention in 2020
Lewandowski was fired from his role as head of the pro-Trump super PAC Make America Great Again Action.
‘Corey Lewandowski will be going on to other endeavors and we very much want to thank him for his service. He will no longer be associated with Trump World,’ Trump spokesperson Taylor Budowich wrote on Twitter.
Separately, conservative news site American Greatness reported this week that Noem and Lewandowski had been having an affair for months, which the South Dakota governor denied.
‘These rumors are total garbage and a disgusting lie,’ Noem said in a tweet Wednesday afternoon. ‘These old, tired attacks on conservative women are based on a falsehood that we can’t achieve anything without a man’s help. I love Bryon. I’m proud of the God-fearing family we’ve raised together. Now I’m getting back to work.’
Trashelle Odom, the Trump donor who has accused Corey Lewandowski of stalking and repeatedly touching her at a Las Vegas charity event, has been pictured with former President Donald Trump. John Odom is pictured left
Corey Lewandoski is pictured above with his wife, Allison, and son
Another Republican politician, Nebraska gubernatorial candidate Charles Herbster, distanced himself from Lewandowski on Thursday morning.
‘I have known Corey Lewandowski since 2015 when I was an early and steadfast supporter of Donald J. Trump for President,’ Herbster, a wealthy agricultural executive, said in a statement. ‘Most recently, Corey has been one of my senior campaign advisors as I run for governor of the state of Nebraska. I’ve asked Corey to step back from this role. Corey and his family will remain in my prayers.’
Lewandowski was removed from the former president’s orbit after he was fired as his campaign manager in 2016.
He would appear to return in 2017 when Trump offered him a job with his administration, which he rejected, telling friends that it was ‘beneath him,’ the Daily Beast reported.
Three years later Trump appointed him to a Pentagon advisory board in the final weeks of his presidency, which President Joe Biden would block in early February.
Before Odom’s allegations became public, sources close to Trump began urging him to ditch the controversial figure, the Daily Beast also reported.
‘I said to the [former] president you could use some distance from Corey and that he’s embarrassing you,’ one of the sources told the outlet. ‘He should have let go of Corey years ago, so I don’t know if he will now.’
According to Odom’s statement, Lewandowski repeatedly remarked about the size of his genitals, Politico reported. He also ‘described his sexual performance and showed Odom his hotel room key.’
She said Lewandowski, whose lawyer blasted the claims as ‘rumors,’ used expletives while speaking about sex as he repeatedly approached her.
The alleged conduct took place during an event at the Westgate Las Vegas hotel for the Victoria’s Voice Foundation, which focuses on substance abuse. The publication quotes two people who were there who said Odom appeared uncomfortable, and that Lewandowski appeared to be intoxicated.
One person said they saw Odom in tears at an after-party.
‘On the evening of September 26 in Las Vegas, Nevada, I attended a dinner to support a charity and spend time with wonderful friends,’ she said. ‘He repeatedly touched me inappropriately, said vile and disgusting things to me, stalked me, and made me feel violated and fearful,’ she said, referring to Lewandowski.
‘Mrs. Odom stated that over the course of the dinner, Mr. Lewandowski tried to hold her hand, and she pushed his hand away. He touched her leg, and she moved it away. He grabbed her napkin off her lap and tried to touch her leg again, and she pulled her dress over her leg, to move his hand away and cover her skin,’ Odom’s lawyer wrote.
The account describes the alleged unwanted advances beginning at a dinner, where the two were seated next to one another.
‘I am coming forward because he needs to be held accountable,’ Odom said. ‘I am blessed to have a loving husband and family behind me. I want other women to know that you can be heard, too, and together we can stop terrible things like this from happening.’
Lewandowski lawyers David Chesnoff and Richard Schonfeld responded to the allegations with a single-line statement to DailyMail.com. It said: ‘Accusations and rumors appear to be morphing by the minute and we will not dignify them with a further response.’