Politico reports on an unusual aspect of the domestic violence allegations against Trump labor secretary nominee Andrew Puzder, the Carl’s Jr. CEO who was accused of abuse by his now-ex-wife in the late ‘80s:
The ex-wife of President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to be labor secretary, Andrew Puzder, appeared in disguise on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” as a victim of domestic violence, after having accused him multiple times of physically assaulting her in the 1980s.
Footage of the episode has apparently not yet been located, but a spokesman for Puzder and his ex-wife, Lisa Fierstein, confirmed that Fierstein’s appearance on the show took place.
The story of the accusations is somewhat convoluted, as Fierstein now says that she invented the two alleged incidents of physical abuse in question, which were said to have taken place in 1985 and 1986, after “impulsively” filing for divorce and being “counseled then to file an allegation of abuse.” But reporting from the time indicates that police responded to the couple’s home during the 1986 incident, which took place in May, before Fierstein filed for divorce. Court documents posted by Politico also indicate that Fierstein formally filed a claim of abuse before filing for divorce.
Puzder’s confirmation hearing is expected to be held in February.
