Nebraska legislators launch support fund for people accusing Herbster of groping them

4 feminine Nebraska state senators launched a fund Tuesday to assist ladies who’ve accused GOP gubernatorial candidate Charles W. Herbster of touching them inappropriately. In the meantime, Herbster’s marketing campaign launched a biting advert rebutting the allegations.

April 14, the Nebraska Examiner reported allegations from eight ladies who mentioned Herbster had groped them. Sen. Julie Slama was the one named accuser, and the Omaha World-Herald didn’t independently corroborate the opposite seven accounts. Three folks later used their names to corroborate particular particulars with the Examiner. 

The information despatched a shock wave by the aggressive Republican race, wherein Herbster is taken into account one of many front-runners. Each feminine state senator condemned Herbster, as did a number of different highly effective political figures.

Herbster has vehemently denied all of the allegations, framing them as a political hit job coordinated by fellow front-runner and College of Nebraska regent Jim Pillen and his most outstanding backer, Gov. Pete Ricketts.

Herbster filed a lawsuit Friday alleging that Slama made “false and defamatory statements” when she confirmed the allegations to the Examiner and repeated them on Omaha radio station KFAB. Monday, Slama filed a response denying Herbster’s accusations, together with a counterclaim alleging battery.

At a Tuesday information convention in La Vista, Sens. Lou Ann Linehan of Omaha, Joni Albrecht of Thurston, Suzanne Geist of Lincoln and Rita Sanders of Bellevue bolstered their assist for Slama and introduced the creation of the “Herbster Sufferer Witness Protection Fund.”

The ladies, all Republicans within the formally nonpartisan Legislature, mentioned they purpose to forestall the specter of litigation from silencing ladies and witnesses by offering them monetary assets and connections to authorized counsel.

“We’re standing right here at present, united, with a message for many who have been topic to sexual misconduct by the hands of Charles W. Herbster: We stand with you. We assist you. And, when you select to return ahead or are in any other case focused, we may have your backs,” Albrecht mentioned.

The 4 senators are listed on-line because the fund’s board of administrators. They mentioned they have been the one 4 senators on the announcement due to the time it will take to arrange the 13 ladies within the Legislature, and since, as the one 5 Republican ladies within the physique (together with Slama), they’re “a staff” that usually works collectively.

Albrecht and Geist mentioned they’ve acquired letters from Herbster’s lawyer asking them to protect data.

The letter to Geist from legal professional David Alan Warrington demanded the senator “protect any and all paperwork, communications, and/or different data that could be pertinent to the defamatory statements” described within the letter and “contained within the Nebraska Examiner article.”

The 2 senators each mentioned they would not be intimidated into silence.

“He is aware of who these individuals are,” Linehan mentioned. “We do not know who they’re. So we’re attempting to ship a message the one method we all know how, that when you’re scared, when you’re getting bullied, when you’re getting letters from legal professionals, come to us. We’ll provide help to.”

The Herbster marketing campaign didn’t reply a query concerning who else acquired such letters and directed the World-Herald to Herbster’s attorneys.

“The authorized actions being taken by Charles W. Herbster to clear his title and fame are within the palms of his attorneys,” the marketing campaign’s assertion reads.

An legal professional listed on Herbster’s lawsuit didn’t instantly reply to questions in regards to the letters.

Linehan mentioned fund organizers have not began elevating cash or recognized authorized counsel, however she sounded assured they might do each. The fund would maintain peoples’ accounts confidential till they really feel that’s not wanted, she mentioned.

Herbster marketing campaign supervisor Ellen Keast framed the legislators’ announcement as “simply one other try by the Jim Pillen marketing campaign and Ricketts institution machine to sling mud” at Herbster forward of the Might 10 major. Keast identified that the 4 lawmakers have endorsed Pillen and acquired monetary donations from Ricketts prior to now. The World-Herald verified that data.

“It’s completely shameful that they’d use such critical issues to push a political smear marketing campaign,” Keast mentioned.

The 4 senators mentioned their assist for Pillen was unrelated to their announcement.

“This isn’t about Jim Pillen,” Sanders mentioned. “That is about Julie Slama and different victims that is likely to be on the market.”

Additionally Tuesday, Herbster’s marketing campaign launched an advert aimed toward Slama, Pillen and Ricketts. 

“Clarence Thomas, then Brett Kavanaugh,” the advert begins. “Lies stacked as much as damage them. Now, Pillen and Ricketts are doing it to Charles W. Herbster.”

The advert lists connections between Ricketts, Slama (with out naming her) and Slama’s kinfolk.

Slama was Ricketts’ marketing campaign press secretary earlier than Ricketts appointed her to the Legislature, and he appointed her now-husband and sister to political posts.

The advert additionally mentioned Slama continued to contact Herbster after the alleged incident, one thing Slama has acknowledged. She additionally has famous what she referred to as the facility differential between Republican megadonor Herbster and herself as a newly appointed legislator.

Slama’s legal professional, Dave Lopez, mentioned the Herbster advert tried “to bully sexual assault victims into silence.” 

“Herbster’s advert slanders Sen. Slama’s members of the family and promotes a far-ranging conspiracy concept that different individuals are behind well-corroborated stories of sexual assault and harassment of eight ladies and at the very least three on-the-record witness accounts,” Lopez mentioned in an announcement. “Charles Herbster is solely answerable for the hurt he inflicted in opposition to Sen. Slama, and he’ll reply for it in court docket.”

Lopez mentioned Slama will “take the suitable steps to carry him accountable for this newest spherical of slander in opposition to her” and referred to as on information media shops to “conduct their very own due diligence and power Herbster to indicate a factual foundation for the conspiratorial claims on this advert for this advert to proceed to run.”

Tuesday afternoon, Herbster’s marketing campaign mentioned it had “not canceled something” associated to advertisements.

Linehan referred to as the advert “disgusting.” 

“Folks have to know they’ll come ahead, and they are going to be protected,” she mentioned. “And that’s why we’re right here at present.”

At a GOP gubernatorial debate Monday, Herbster mentioned he wouldn’t have any hassle working with ladies within the Legislature after they issued the letter wherein they referred to as him “unfit to serve.”

Geist was much less sure.

“I believe whoever wins the election must construct a relationship of belief with the Legislature,” she mentioned. “I’d say, talking for myself, that has been severely examined by this, and it will be very troublesome.”

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