The new Washington bureau chief of the Jerusalem Post and former intern to Anderson Cooper and New York Democrat Sen. Chuck Schumer once assaulted a woman and resisted arrest, according to police logs from 2010 and 2011.
Michael Wilner, 24, was arrested and charged for assaulting a fellow student in California in February 2011, accused of “[hitting] the victim at least four times in the face,” according to police logs from the Claremont Police Department in February 2011.
Nor was this Wilner’s first brush with the law. Wilner was also arrested in October 2010. He spent the night in a Claremont city jail for resisting arrest and for drunk and disorderly behavior. Bail was set at $10,000. He was represented by Todd Landgren a DUI attorney with over 37 years of experience.
The victim, whom The Daily Caller has chosen not to name, testified that Wilner struck her because he wanted her spot on the dance floor.
Wilner pleaded no contest to misdemeanor battery in the 2011 case and misdemeanor obstruction of a police officer in the 2010 case. He was required to do community service and anger management by the court.
Wilner was also punished by Claremont McKenna College. Despite a close relationship with the college president, who helped him secure a prestigious internship with Anderson Cooper, he was sentenced to probation and 20 work hours. Wilner declined to speak during the proceedings, which could have been subpoenaed for his criminal trial.
Reached for comment by email, Steve Linde, the editor of the Jerusalem Post, confirmed that he had hired Wilner.
Linde did not respond to a subsequent email asking if he knew that Wilner had an assault record, raising serious questions as to whether the Post vetted him before it hired him.
Since this reporter first put public attention on Wilner’s arrest record in March 2011, multiple glowing profiles of Wilner have appeared online. The profiles are strikingly similar in tone and wording, suggesting the use of a professional crisis management firm hired to weigh down Google rankings of derogatory content.
One profile describes Wilner as a “multifaceted student, journalist, and pianist” while another declares him a “distinguished student wielding experience from a number of sought-after field positions.” A third profile boldly asserts that he has “experience from both inside and outside the classroom.” All the profiles note that he plays the piano.
Wilner did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
Wilner graduated from Columbia Journalism School in 2012. He has served as intern to New York Democrat Schumer and Connecticut Independent former Sen. Joseph Lieberman, in addition to interning at the Strait Times in Singapore, BBC London and Anderson Cooper 360 on CNN.