Again, we’re going to file this under “not surprising at all.”
Tareq and Michaele Salahi‘s former publicist, Mahogany Jones, contacted media earlier this week saying she was “available for interviews” and would “reveal the facts” about the White House gatecrashing incident.
While waiting for people to line up to hear the story, Jones got some flak from the Salahis’ new attorney, Lisa Bloom (the daughter of power attorney Gloria Allred, by the way).
Bloom sent a strongly worded e-mail to the former publicist imploring that she retract the press release or she would be held “legally accountable.” Bloom said calling the Salahis “dishonest,” as Jones did in the press release, was defamation. In addition, because Jones worked for the Salahis’ former attorney, she is bound by attorney-client privilege.
“She is not permitted to run around and talk about the former client,” Bloom told Yeas & Nays.
While Jones’ assistant wouldn’t tell Yeas & Nays if Jones was seeking cash for comment, investigative journalist Diane Dimond, who is penning the book “Cirque Du Salahi: Be Careful Who You Trust,” said the publicist wanted money. Jones reached out to Dimond, offering up her story and an interview with the Salahis’ former attorney Paul Gardner.
“Then she throws me a curve,” Dimond told Yeas & Nays in an e-mail. “She says as the Salahis’ former PR person and former attorney only THEY know the real inside story and what’s the ‘compensation’ they can expect if they talk to me.”
Bloom used Dimond’s experience in her e-mail as well.
“Ms. Jones has apparently decided to try to make a buck off of the Salahis now that things are going well for them,” Bloom wrote.
Thus far, she hasn’t heard a peep from Jones.
