Company linked to Clintons sues to silence GOP strategist

November 1, 2016 | 12:45pm | Updated


GOP strategist Ed Rollins GOP strategist Ed Rollins
Photo: Getty Images

A consultancy company linked to the Clintons is trying to silence a former employee, suing GOP strategist Ed Rollins for $10 million for talking about the inner workings of the controversial corporations.

The defamation suit, filed in Manhattan Supreme Court on Monday, says Rollins made “false statements” about Teneo Holdings to Lou Dobbs on “Fox Business News” on Oct. 28 and to the New York Times in an Oct. 22 article.

In the Times article, headlined “A Constellation of Influencers: Behind the Curtain at Teneo,” Rollins, who ran President Ronald Reagan’s 1984 re-election campaign, said the company rented out high-profile consultants like former New York City Police Commissioner William Bratton to business executives to boost their prestige at events.

“The ability to bring business and political leaders together to meet the CEOs was all part of the selling point,” Rollins said.

He also told the newspaper that Teneo quietly hosted salons connecting executives with Democratic lawmakers. Even though Teneo sponsored the DC dinner parties, the company disguised its involvement by sending invitations through Bloomberg View columnist Margarat Carlson, the Times reported.

A Teneo spokesman said the salon claims were “categorically false.”

In last week’s interview with Dobbs, Rollins discussed the latest FBI probe into Hillary Clinton’s emails, saying it was “another cover-up” to claim that the messages came from Anthony Weiner and not Huma Abedin’s computer.

“It was her computer, obviously, with information about the Clinton Foundation, Clinton emails,” Rollins told Dobbs.

The Times reported that a Teneo consultant named Justin Cooper was also an aide to Bill Clinton who was involved in setting up the family’s private email server.

Teneo’s defamation suit — filed a week ahead of the presidential election — says the remarks are in violation of Rollins’ confidentiality agreement. He left Teneo four months ago, saying the firm was not a “comfortable place to be a Republican.”

Teneo counters that Rollins, who chairs a super PAC for Donald Trump, was fired for breaking his employment contract. The defamation suit also makes a breach-of-contract claim for the alleged disclosure of confidential information.

Rollins told The Post that he planned to countersue Teneo for defamation of character.

“They want this war, we’re happy to have it,” Rollins said. “They’re trying to force me to get away from the game,” he said, defending remarks that he made “in the midst of a political campaign.”

http://nypost.com/2016/11/01/company...op-strategist/