Former Trump administration aide Omarosa Manigault Newman must pay a $61,585 fine for not complying with financial disclosure requirements after being fired from the White House.
U.S. District Judge Richard Leon sided with the Justice Department and dismissed Omarosa’s argument she could not file in time due to confusion over the date of her termination from the Trump administration and because government officials withheld important documents from her.
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“The question remains … are there two systems of justice in this country. One that allows those who violate the Hatch Act and Emoluments Clause a slap on wrist and the other that orders an unprecedented fine (highest in history) for an alleged unintentional failing to file a form,” Omarosa reacted on Twitter following the ruling.
Public officials are required to file financial disclosure forms within 30 days in accordance with the Ethics in Government Act. Manigault Newman, a former contestant on The Apprentice, first joined the Trump administration in 2017 as the director of communications for the Office of Public Liaison. John Kelly, the chief of staff at the time, fired her in December 2017, citing money and integrity issues.
The ruling came in the U.S. District for the District of Columbia on Tuesday. The Justice Department first brought the case against her in 2019. She filed the form in September of that year, according to court documents. Prosecutors recommended the $61,585 penalty, the maximum fine allowed for that type of violation.
Manigault Newman disputed the termination dates government officials put on the form. The government ultimately maintained she was fired on Dec. 17, 2017, despite her objections. She had been informed by Kelly she was being terminated on Dec. 12, 2017, per court documents.
“This dispute is also not genuine because Manigault Newman failed to file her Termination Report within the statutory 30-day timeline after being afforded the opportunity to retrieve the documents,” Leon ruled. “Indeed, Manigault Newman failed for months to coordinate a time and place to retrieve the documents despite numerous messages from White House officials trying to accommodate their return.”
Manigault Newman also claimed the government did not give her unspecified documents needed to complete the forms, but Leon argued she did not make an effort to retrieve those documents until May 2019. Her third defense was that the case against her was motivated by her public criticisms of the Trump administration and that she was protected by the Whistleblower Protection Act. But the judge said she had no basis to claim WPA protections and determined the Justice Department had a legitimate case not motivated by retaliation.
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Leon emphasized Manigault Newman received repeated reminders after her termination to file the necessary form and noted she responded to at least one of the requests sent in 2018. The judge echoed the government’s argument the penalty was warranted “because of the egregiousness of her conduct and her significant financial resources.” He noted she received a $179,700 salary during her White House tenure and was the “1/3 beneficiary” of a $1 million trust and said the maximum fine was warranted to deter such violations in the future.
