- Jess Ravich, a senior employee at major investment firm TCW Group, resigned from his position on TCW’s board after his “unprofessional communications” with a subordinate were uncovered.
- Ravich has donated tens of thousands of dollars to Democrats, including $10,000 to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and $50,000 to the Democratic National Committee.
- Democrats who received money from Ravich did not respond when asked if they would consider returning the money or donating it to women’s groups.
Democrats declined to say Thursday if they would return contributions from a wealthy donor who recently resigned from the board of an asset management firm amid allegations of sexual misconduct.
Jess Ravich, a former board member of Los Angeles-based TCW Group, has donated tens of thousands of dollars to Democratic campaigns and committees over the years.
A January 2018 lawsuit against Ravich and TCW alleges that Ravich repeatedly coerced his employee, Sara Tirschwell, into sex in exchange for support of her investment fund. Tirschwell says that when she complained about the behavior, TCW fired her in retaliation.
“[Ravich] repeatedly coerced [Tirschwell] into sex, implicitly threatening that if she rejected his advances, TCW would deprive her of resources and investor access that were essential to her successfully building out the Distressed Fund,” the suit claims.
Ravich resigned from his position on TCW’s board in October 2018 after the company learned of “unprofessional communications” he had with Tirschwell, but he remains a senior-level employee.
Since 1998, Ravich has contributed to the following Democratic campaigns and committees:
- Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR): $6300 (1998-2015)
- Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA): $1000 (2012)
- Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee: $10,000 (2008)
- Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE): $2000 (2006)
- Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee: $25,000 (2000)
- Democratic National Committee: $50,000 (2000)
The Daily Caller reached out to the offices for Sens. Wyden, Casey, and Carper, as well as the DSCC, DCCC, and DNC to inquire if they would return the donations from Ravich. None of them responded.
In October 2018, around the same time Ravich stepped down from the TCW board, Sen. Wyden spoke of the “enormous pain” inflicted on sexual assault and harassment survivors by the nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court.
“I believe Dr. Ford when she says she was assaulted in that room in 1982,” Wyden said of the uncorroborated allegation of sexual assault against Kavanaugh. “I believe Dr. Ford when she says her attackers locked the door, a hand was pressed over her mouth, and she feared she might die. I believe her when she says she remembers them laughing.” (RELATED: Senate Judiciary Finds ‘No Evidence’ To Support Blasey Ford Allegation)
Sen. Casey similarly said, “I believe Dr. Christine Blasey Ford.”
Democrats slammed Republicans in the aftermath of Kavanaugh’s confirmation, citing Ford’s allegation of sexual assault.
In the era of #MeToo, of the @WomensMarch , of #NeverthelessShePersisted, of some of the strongest women’s movements in history, the GOP just confirmed Brett Kavanaugh, a man accused of sexual assault, to our Supreme Court.
In 31 days, women will pay Republicans back in kind. pic.twitter.com/d3RE4sPyrW
— DCCC (@dccc) October 6, 2018
The DCCC bragged about the money they were able to raise off of the accusations against Kavanaugh, but members of the party have refused to answer questions about the money they’ve received from Ravich — even as TCW admits Ravich had “unprofessional communications” with his accuser and removed him from its board.
…
$460K during the tax scam
$200K during the govt shutdown
$614K when Rs’ rescission bill threatened Medicare
$887K during the Kavanaugh hearingsBottom line: Every time Rs display unacceptable leadership, we ARE making them pay for it by raising money to DEFEAT them.
— DCCC (@dccc) October 31, 2018
Ravich has also thrown a significant amount of cash to the Clinton Foundation; he is listed on the organization’s website as a donor in the $50,001 to $100,000 contribution range. Last March, the Clinton Foundation told the Caller that they would not return the donations and refused to say if the nonprofit condemned Ravich’s alleged misconduct. (EXCLUSIVE: Clinton Foundation Won’t Return Donations From Accused Sexual Harasser)
“Donations, these included, have been spent helping people by fighting childhood obesity and HIV/AIDS, combating climate change and empowering girls and women,” the Clinton Foundation said at the time.
