President Trump’s personal attorney, Marc Kasowitz, used profanities to lash out at a stranger who in an email urged him to resign, according to a report Thursday.
ProPublica, which published a critical story Tuesday of Kasowitz said that a retired public relations professional who asked not to be identified saw a segment on MSNBC describing the piece, and sent the lawyer an email with the subject line: “Resign Now.”
Kasowitz replied with series of messages. One read: “I’m on you now. You are fucking with me now Let’s see who you are Watch your back, bitch.”
In another email, Kasowitz wrote: “Call me. Don’t be afraid, you piece of shit. Stand up. If you don’t call, you’re just afraid.”
He later wrote: “I already know where you live, I’m on you. You might as well call me. You will see me. I promise. Bro.”
The man told ProPublica that he forwarded Kasowitz’s emails to the FBI so there would be a written record in case Kasowitz followed through on the threat.
A spokesperson for Kasowitz issued a statement Thursday acknowledging that Kasowitz wrote the threatening emails and plans to apologize to the man:
“Mr. Kasowitz, who is tied up with client matters, said he intends to apologize to the writer of the email referenced in today’s ProPublica story. While no excuse, the email came at the end of a very long day that a 10 pm was not yet over. ‘The person sending that email is entitled to his opinion and I should not have responded in that inappropriate manner,'” Mr. Kasowitz said. “‘I intend to send him an email stating just that. This is one those times where one wishes he could reverse the clock, but of course I can’t.'”
ProPublica reported Tuesday that Kasowitz has not sought a security clearance and may have trouble getting one because he allegedly has an alcohol abuse problem.
More than two dozen current and former employees of Kasowitz’s firm, Kasowitz Benson Torres LLP, as well as his friends and acquaintances, told ProPublica that Trump’s personal attorney has struggled over time with alcohol abuse, including a stint in rehab in the winter of 2014-2015.
The process for obtaining a security clearance involves the government examining a person’s past; investigators may flag cases that suggest poor judgment.
Since the story was published, the attorney’s spokesman issued a statement disputing several parts of the story. “Marc Kasowitz has not struggled with alcoholism,” he said.
Kasowitz is not a government employee, but he is representing Trump in a personal capacity to defend him in various Russia investigations. He has taken on a public role in defending Trump, delivering the president’s televised response to former FBI Director James Comey’s testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee last month.
