New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand called out Republicans for their lack of public denunciations against Steve Wynn, the former finance chairman of the Republican National Committee who’s been accused of sexual assault and harassment by dozens of women who worked at his Las Vegas businesses.
During an appearance on The View, Gillibrand responded to the question of whether the GOP should return the money Wynn has given to the party by saying:
They should… There are multiple allegations of assault and harassment against him, and the near silence is deafening coming from Republicans. I really believe this should not be about any one party, it should not be partisan. This kind of behavior is not ok, it is not acceptable, we need accountability, and I think Republicans should show far more leadership than they are today, and they need to speak up and send the money back and hold their own accountable.
So far, a handful of Republicans have chosen to donate the campaign contributions given to them by Wynn to charities dedicated to women’s issues, but the majority have stayed silent.
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Kirsten Gillibrand says “the near silence is deafening” coming from Republicans on the Steve Wynn allegations: "They need to speak out and send the money back. And hold their own accountable." (via ABC) pic.twitter.com/gO0s57VKZi
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) January 29, 2018
The chairwoman of the RNC, Ronna Romney McDaniel, told Fox News that the committee would not be returning the money. “Steve has denied these allegations,” she said. “There is an investigation that is going to take place. He should be allowed due process. If he is found guilty of any wrongdoing, we will absolutely return 100% of the money.”
This is despite the fact that the same committee tore into Democrats who’d received money from Harvey Wenstein, demanding that they return it all immediately.
Sabrina Singh, deputy communications director of the Democratic National Committee, pointed out McDaniel’s hypocrisy. “In the exact words of RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel, ‘If you stand for treating women well and you stand for the respect of women, you shouldn’t take money from somebody who treated women with the absolute highest level of disrespect,’” she said.
