Skip to main content

Ex-Aide’s Attorney Says Donald Trump May be Running Secret Shadow Operation

 

Trump screengrab via YouTubeThe attorney for ex-Trump aide Sam Nunberg, who was sued by Donald Trump for $10 million for allegedly leaking confidential information to The New York Post, is trying to determine if Donald Trump is operating a secret shadow operation. The issue came to light when Nunberg, who worked as a consultant to Trump in 2015, was asked to sign a confidentiality agreement with an entity called Trump 2012 PCA. 

Upon further investigation, Nunberg’s attorneys realized Trump 2012 PCA didn’t appear to be registered in New York.  In fact, attorneys for Nunberg told LawNewz.com they couldn’t find it existing anywhere. In addition, Nunberg’s mother, Rebecca Nunberg, confirms to LawNewz.com that her son received at least two paychecks from Trump 2016 PCA, which also doesn’t appear to be registered with the Secretary of State’s Office. She confirmed that Nunberg never received any IRS 1099 forms, which are usually issued by companies who hire contract workers like Nunberg. LawNewz could also not find the company registered in New York or with the FEC.

“If you are an independent contractor and you are paid more than $600 you are required by the IRS, if you pay someone, that entity is obligated to issue a 1099 to the person they are paying,” Rebecca Nunberg told LawNewz.com. Nunberg is a corporate attorney herself.

Here is a copy of the confidentiality agreement. You can see Donald Trump signed off on it. 

“It’s really weird,” Nunberg’s attorney, Andrew Miltenberg, told LawNewz.com, “The workings of your campaign and how you manage that are of great significance and I think its important for the American people to understand, how you run a business, how you run a campaign.” Miltenberg admits he doesn’t know for sure if Trump is running a shadow account, but it is something that is worth “considerable further review” given the facts of what they have discovered.

“If it’s not a real entity what role does it or did it have in the campaign.. the 2012 presidential cycle is over, why would they use that type of entity to sue raises a whole host of questions,” Miltenberg added.

Nunberg worked as a consultant to Donald Trump from around January 2015 to August 2015, when he was fired. Trump’s attorneys accused Nunberg of leaking a story about former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski and PR flack Hope Hicks getting into a screaming match on the streets of New York City.  Nunberg’s parents, who attended a hearing at the New York Supreme Court on Thursday, questioned how their son could have possibly leaked the story if he had left the campaign 8 months earlier.

We are digging into this issue. A message to Trump’s attorney, Alan Garten, inquiring about this issue was not returned. We are updating this article with more information, so check back.

 

Tags:

Follow Law&Crime:

Rachel Stockman is President of Law&Crime which includes Law&Crime Productions, Law&Crime Network and LawAndCrime.com. Under her watch, the company has grown from just a handful of people to a robust production company and network producing dozens of true crime shows a year in partnership with major networks. She also currently serves as Executive Producer of Court Cam, a hit show on A&E, and I Survived a Crime, a new crime show premiering on A&E this fall. She also oversees production of a new daily syndicated show Law&Crime Daily, which is produced in conjunction with Litton Entertainment. In addition to these shows, her network and production company produce programs for Facebook Watch, Cineflix and others. She has spent years covering courts and legal issues, and was named Atlanta Press Club's 'Rising Star' in 2014. Rachel graduated from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism and Yale Law School.