Woman who accused Corey Lewandowski of assault says 'I don't want this to happen to anyone else'

The political class barely shrugged when Corey Lewandowski announced in August that he was back at former President Donald Trump's side. But when Trashelle Odom learned that Lewandowski had joined Trump's 2024 presidential campaign as a senior adviser, it was a slap in the face. That's because just over three years ago, in 2021, Odom, then the wife of a wealthy Republican donor, reported Lewandowski to police for allegedly attacking and stalking her at a charity event in Las Vegas. She later said his lawyers offered her a payment to keep quiet.

Lewandowski, who was Trump's first campaign managerwas charged with assault and agreed with prosecutors to dismiss the charges in exchange for community service, a $1,000 fine, enrollment in an impulse control class and an apology in court to Odom for “any discomfort he caused.” could have caused her”. Lewandowski was pushed out of Trump's orbit, where he had led a super PAC that supported the former president. A Trump spokesman promised at the time that Lewandowski “would no longer be associated with the Trump world.”

In response to a request for comment, Lewandowski's attorneys, David Chesnoff and Richard Schonfeld, said: “Lewandowski has not been charged with assault or stalking in Clark County, Nevada. In fact, the case against Mr. Lewandowski was dismissed.”

Odom said his firing put her on the path to healing. She divorced, moved to another state, left the world of politics and started a small business while raising her young children.

When a friend called her last month to tell her that Lewandowski was back under Trump, she told CBS News she was stunned.

“I just collapsed,” she said in her first television interview since Lewandowski’s return. “I was very, very upset.” Odom said she wanted others to hear her story. “He has his power back,” she said.

Lewandowski's aggressive style and penchant for personal minutiae ensured one turbulent tenure in Trump's orbit. But Trump remained loyal to Lewandowksi, bringing him back into his inner circle after he was fired twice, once by the campaign and once by the super PAC Make America Great Again Action.

The longtime political strategist, who once served as a state trooper in New Hampshire, gained notoriety for his role in catapulting Trump, an unlikely candidate, to the White House. Since the 2016 election, he has been described as a kind of comfort pillow for Trump. He is someone who encourages the former president's more extreme instincts, even as other advisers want to rein him in.

“Let Trump be Trump” is Lewandowski’s mantra – and the name of a book he co-wrote in 2017 with Dave Bossie, Trump’s former deputy campaign manager.

“I just like him,” Trump recently told New York Magazine. “Corey is a character.” Lewandowski was scrutinized almost from the start for his treatment of women. During the 2016 campaign, CCTV footage showed him grabbing a journalist's arm following a press conference. Images from the video showed she had bruises on her arm. Lewandowski was charged with simple assault, but prosecutors ultimately dropped the charge.

Lewandowski's lawyers responded to the allegation by saying the matter was “closed a long time ago, as Florida authorities decided not to file charges after completing their investigation.”

In 2017, a woman told police that Lewandowski slapped her on the butt during a Christmas party at the Trump International Hotel in Washington, DC. She protested, according to the police report, but Lewandowski ignored her disapproval and did it again.

“It was completely humiliating and shocking,” she told Politico, but ultimately declined to press charges.

Odom said she had hoped never to have to revisit the memories publicly again. But after learning that Lewandowski had returned to Trump's side, she told CBS News she felt compelled to come forward and tell her story. She said she wanted to “give a voice” to women who may have had similar experiences but are unable to speak out.

“I want them to feel safe and I don’t want that to happen to anyone else,” she said.

She described what happened to her that evening as frightening and fought back tears at times during the interview. Lewandowski, Odom said, made her uncomfortable from the moment she sat down next to him.

“He only had me in his sights. His eyes were only on me,” she said. He quickly turned the conversation to his workout routines and bragged about his sexual prowess. “He said I should go work out with him in his bedroom… and he said how big his genitals were and how long he could last in bed because he worked out so much.”

According to Odom, Lewandwowski soon began touching her. “He … put his hands on my lap” and tried to “just caress my leg and go up my side and kind of try to touch my butt.” She said that as she was leaving dinner, Lewandowski was following her through the hotel followed.

“I felt like I was his prey,” she said. “He was very persistent, aggressive.” At one point she said Lewandowski threw his drink at her. When she confronted him, “he started laughing,” Odom recalled.

Odom, now 35, was introduced to the political world through her now-ex-husband John Odom, a construction manager from Boise, Idaho, who generously supported Trump's re-election efforts. But she said she didn't want her story to get caught up in the political vortex.

“I don’t want it to be about Trump. I don’t want it to be about politics,” she said.

And yet, just a month before the presidential election, she is speaking out at a time when Trump is facing a historic event Gender difference with his opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris. According to the latest CBS News poll, Harris leads Trump among women, 55% to 44%. Trump is aware of the deficit and is courting female voters. He recently took to social media to argue that women would be far better off if he won the presidency instead of Harris.

“I will protect women on a level never seen before,” he boasted on Truth Social. “You will finally be healthy, hopeful, safe and secure.”

But Trump, of course, has his own problems when it comes to his treatment of women. Trump has been accused of sexual misconduct by as many as 20 women over the years, allegations he has denied. And last year he was held responsible for sexual abuse in a civil case brought by magazine journalist E. Jean Carroll (Trump is appealing the verdict).

Meanwhile, evidence has emerged that the Trump campaign paid women money to bury their allegations. A 2016 gender discrimination lawsuit filed in July against the Trump campaign included text messages from former Trump lawyer Jenna Ellis in which she claimed the campaign had settled multiple sexual harassment cases. For her part, Odom revealed in her CBS News interview that Lewandowski's lawyers had offered her more than $30,000 to keep the episode confidential. She declined the offer.

A few days after Odom accused Lewandowski of sexually harassing her, she received a call from Trump, who himself was found guilty in a “hush money” case.

During their conversation, Trump claimed that Lewandowski was drunk. Odom said she was happy about the call. Donald Trump Jr. also called and expressed regret for what happened to her.

“He was very nice and said things that made me feel like Corey wasn't going to be there anymore,” Odom said.

The Trump campaign did not respond to a request for comment.

Since returning, Lewandowki has taken on a public role defending Trump and promoting the campaign's message in several television interviews. He was not questioned about Odom's allegations. Odom, for her part, never wanted to go on television to talk about what happened to her that night in Las Vegas, but she said she felt she had no choice. She believes Lewandowski hasn't changed.

“If I can give even a little bit to one person, it makes it worth it when I say something,” she said through tears.