New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, a virulent anti-Trumper and champion of the #MeToo movement, is accused of beating four women with whom he has had romantic encounters.
The New Yorker reported on Monday that four women are accusing Schneiderman of subjecting them to nonconsensual physical violence and threatening to kill them if they ever broke up with him, among other abusive behavior.
Michelle Manning Barish said she was in a relationship with Schneiderman for close to two years, and, apparently in a drunken rage, he allegedly called her a whore, slapped her across the face and the ear, and held her down and choked her. The slap caused lasting damage to Manning Barish’s ear and she later sought out a doctor for treatment.
Manning Barish told several friends about the incident at the time, all of whom confirmed her account to The New Yorker. She also accuses him of “emotionally battering” her and controlling her appearance through cruel remarks about her weight.
Another woman, who chose to remain unnamed in the piece, said Schneiderman once slapped her so hard that a handprint was left on her face. The other women who spoke to The New Yorker all described textbook abusive relationships with Schneiderman that involved intense physical abuse, belittling remarks, and extremely controlling behavior.
The women explained that they felt duped by Schneiderman’s public image as a progressive champion of women’s rights, particularly because of his role in taking down Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein. Schneiderman has used his role as the attorney general to bring legal action against Weinstein and demand greater compensation for his victims.
“You cannot be a champion of women when you are hitting them and choking them in bed, and saying to them, ‘You’re a fucking whore,'” Barish said. “How can you put a perpetrator in charge of the country’s most important sexual-assault case?”
“His hypocrisy is epic,” she added. “He’s fooled so many people.”