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California gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman's campaign is responding to accusations that she subjected to "emotional and financial abuse" her former housekeeper, who was working illegally in the country.
Nicky Diaz, who was Whitman's housekeeper from 2000-2009, claimed in a press conference alongside attorney Gloria Allred that Whitman was aware that she was undocumented and that the Republican candidate fired her only after deciding to run for governor. Diaz also said Whitman failed to pay her on time and did not offer her medical leave during her pregnancy.
Allred said that Whitman ignored a 2003 letter from the Social Security Administration notifying her of discrepancies in the Social Security number that Diaz provided.
Whitman, who has poured millions of her own money into the close race against Democrat former Gov. Jerry Brown, flatly said in a statement that “the charges are without merit.”
Whitman's campaign held a conference call with reporters - though not allowing follow-up questions – before the press conference to address the allegations.
On June 20, 2009, the campaign said, Diaz came to Whitman and confessed that she was not a legal resident of the U.S. and filed false documents. She was then fired by Whitman.
“As required by law, once we learned she was an illegal worker, I immediately terminated Nicky's employment,” Whitman said in a written statement.”It was one of the hardest things I've ever done. I considered Nicky a friend and a part of our extended family.”
The campaign also argued that Allred had given Jerry Brown campaigns contributions in 1982 ($1,000) and in 2006 ($150), and said the timing of this complaint -- 34 days until the election -- was curious.
“I believe Nicky is being manipulated by Gloria Allred for political and financial purposes during the last few weeks of a hotly contested election," the statement read.
*** UPDATE *** A CNN/Time/Opinion Research Corporation poll released Wednesday showed Whitman trailing Brown 52 percent to 43 percent.
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$23.00 an hour? Where do I sign up?
Gloria, Illegal Client, Whitman's Very Deep Pockets, Do The Math !!
With probably Millions more women with this same problem why would Gloria just represent her?
Lots Of Hanky Panky Going On Here !!
Red Sparrow: I think you mean "advocating," as in "advocating a position." "Abdicating" means giving up, as in "abdicating the throne."
Well, more of the same from Left. We knew things would get rough with the Lefts lies, smears, and dirty tricks. Anything to win an election you know. Expect more of the same from them in the next 34 days.
And Gloria Allred?! Please. The print on her business card says in bold: "Dirty Tricks, Done Dirt Cheap" She sure brings credibility to the circus.
Where is the "lie" here? Ms. Whitman did not deny any of the report. As to the weight to be given this, that is up to the individual voter.
My problem with this report, and again unrefuted by Ms. Whitman, is the matter of no maternity leave for a beloved employee. If this is the case, then there is a careless disregard for the person that may well indicate what happens in her governance. That is a problem for me.
WELL SAID NITEOWLETT way back at the beginning of these comments!!!
John JJ: while you are probably correct, and this is certainly Allred's motivation (as with any private litigation attorney), Allred makes it her business to represent "celebrity" clients, no matter the strength of their claims (apparently this is a good business model, or at least a working one for her). That s why she would represent this particular housekeeper out of the myriad others who might have even stronger claims. This housekeeper was a gubernatorial candidate's, and that might require the special press skills that Allred has honed.
I am no fan of Meg Whitman, I live in San Diego and look at the condition of the State I have lived in for 57 years, and I am just sick. Gloria's business model does work for her, it is gutter representation as far as I an concerned. All in all, this is a sad & sick state we live in.
What folks will do for attention & destruction of others is just amazing to me.
I am jumping on my bike with my surfboard and I am about 2 minutes away from being in a world I love, the ocean!! Water is getting warmer 68 degress and surf to 2 to 4 feet right now!!
If politicians spent more time with enjoying life as you do John JJ, the world would be a better place. normal people can't take politics for more than brief periods, and that's how we end up with out of touch policy wonks in our government who have had their common sense eroded by time. Part time legislatures worked very well, and it is one solution for the quagmire we find ourselves in. Enjoy the surf!
Whoever you support, I liked a comment by Brown I heard in the debate last night where he said he has a wife to go home too. It's politicians who feel politics is their life - not their family, hobbies, religion - that really scare me. Brown is very likeable, I think, whatever one thinks of his policies.
Seriously, why isn't this lady being investigated for employing an illegal for years.
I am so sick of this, it's like we have to wait to see if she wins before we check into this.
this kiss kiss kiss an officials is stupid. they are just like us. and we would be in jail by now.
Whitman, you are an outright LIAR. Everyone knows that the rich employ illegal immigrants in this country, mostly as laborers and house keepers and pay them $1-2 per hour. You may have never asked, but you certainly knew she was not legal because they needed the money and didn't question you about paying into social security or paying income tax. So for you to now claim you didn't know this is an outright lie. You and the many other rich, lazy Americans are part of the problem with illegal immigration into the US.
$1-$2 an hour?? Are you insane?? I could not believe it when I convinced someone to work for me for $9 an hour. The going rate is more like $15 (in Los Angeles County, at least). And that is for an independent contractor who is likely not paying any taxes (most of the people I've spoken do don't even take checks). Someone else posited that she was paying $23/hr. I don't know where that came from, but I'm sure she was getting a very good wage. They also usually get at least lunch included, depending on the set up. My wife makes way less than that and she was born in Los Angeles, with a college degree and a professional degree. Housekeepers generally have no student loans and have been working since high school, saving money.
Isn't that what Californians desire, another failure? Jerry Brown fits the description just like Mark Dayton from Minnesota. The democrats voted him the least effective senator and asked him not to run for the senate when his term expired, but now he is running for governor of Minnesota and guess what, the IQ in Minnesota is no better than in California, people want to elect him to be the least effective governor. Go figure. It all comes down to the promises of all the democrats and the gullible people wanting something they are not entitled to or have worked for.
I believe the millionaire that is trying so hard to buy her way into office .... is a liar... liar pants on fire.
i was on the fence, but this takes the cake... whitman just lost my vote.. what a hypocrite. she can spend $100 Million to buy an election, yet can't pay her poor housekeeper, and fires her after 9 years.. wow.
John A's assessment of CA problems is right on target. We have allowed ourselves to be consumed by the myth of participative democracy. This allows any well organized and funded interest group to present an initiative to the voters and sell it with a series of deceitful ads. When they pass, the legislature and the governor are not responsible for the consequences, which are never what was promised. The only hope we have is that the voters get smart enough to vote against all propositions, regardless of how good they sound. Let the legislators and governor make the laws and then hold them accountable for the results. That will fix CA.
Another dirty old trick. An illigal immigrant abusing our legal system. And of course being manipulated by Democrats. I guess nobody has the right to fire their house keeper anymore.
More crazy candidates from the Far Right. Tea Party: your moment and destructive nature are apparent, but will be brief and passing. For that we can be grateful!
She filled out standard [Internal Revenue Service] forms and Department of Justice forms and presented her Social Security card and California driver's license. She filled out immigration forms that stated under penalty of perjury that she was a lawful resident."
The above is from an article on another site. I am not sure what more someone could do when employing someone and she was employed with her for almost 10 years.
I am just curious as to the timing of the allegations. She was let go in June of 2009 and this is September almost October 2010 and this is just now coming out via Gloria Allred of all people. Why wait until now????? Why not do it say a year ago?????
another California perspective here. If you're a busy high income (or even not so high income) professional, there's a very good chance you employ domestic help.... and, unless you live with your head buried in the sand, you KNOW that chances are any person responding to a "help wanted" ad for that type of position will, odds on, be an illegal. You also know that there is a simple 1-800 number to call to check on a potential employees status. There's only posters up just about everywhere, as well as ads in most media, put on by some concerned citizens group or other.
So in other words, eMeg has no excuses here. In this state, people are ignorant of the employment status of their maids only because they don't wish to know and because they know, with almost complete certainty, what the reality of the situation is, not because they carelessly forgot to check. She's screwed. Nobody's going to buy anything she has to say to try to excuse her actions here.
I don't know where you live, but I have never seen one of these ads and did not know of the number. I thought only businesses who pay payroll tax had the ability to check people. I wouldn't give some stranger I'm doing work for my social security number. Most people wouldn't. I admit I don't know how the rich live, but I'm a busy professional and only sporadically splurge on "domestic help." I know people who have full time though. It is just not true that everyone in the "domestic help" workforce is illegally here. Or even most of them. I know people who have gone tio public school all their lives and work as "domestic help." The fact that they speak English well enough to apply to a help wanted ad, would only further convince me that they were American citizens or at least here legally. Remember - the children of illegal immigrants born here are American citizens even if they have no professional skills.
Isn't it amazing that she suddenly "found out" that her housekeeper was not documented just about the time she decided to run for governor???? I bet if she hadn't made that decision, the lady would still be her housekeeper. Anyone want to take a bet on that one??
Unaware her housekeeper was "allegedly" undocumented? Hmm, thought I read somewhere that it was your responsibility to check the status of your employees, or future employees? Naaa, guess that only applies to us low life little people!
When was the last time you asked your gardener for his social security number? When was the last time you asked your house keeper for her/his social security number? Does anybody out there provide medical insurance for their housekeeper? You must be living in different planet. This is another dirty political trick from democrats. You will not be able to tax us anymore, and provide services to illegal immigrants.
oh this is too rich. Republican "Anchor Baby" Michelle Malkin is openly accusing Whitman of lying, alleging that she held an SSN no-match letter on her maid since 2003:
"Yes, Gloria Allred is a crapweasel. But an SSN no-match letter usually speaks for itself. And if Whitman did in fact receive the no-match letter in 2003/2005, her credibility goes out the window."
Oh well. Buh bye eMeg. Your base likes Anchor Baby more than they like you.
Anchor Baby?
Not sure where "America's Anchor babe" came from, but it seems to have stuck. Some people actually attribute the label to Malkin herself.
What does it mean though? I guess I can check Wikipedia... "Anchor baby" is a term used by immigration reductionists in the United States to describe a child born in the U.S. to illegal aliens. It is generally used as a derogatory reference to the supposed role of the child, who as a U.S. citizen through the legal principle of jus soli, may facilitate immigration for relatives through family reunification
Learn new stuff every day - but it seems Malkin's parents were here legall when they had her. Different discussion altogether.
dunno what it means that she calls herself that. I thought it was more to do with that she sees herself as an anchor person (the blogosphere equivalent of an anchorman on a network station) and that she considers herself a babe. It is ironic in this context though, which is why I used it.
A Republican Candidate with questionable employees? Nah, no way. The rights are far superior to the rest of us poor lackeys, that's why they need to be elected and get control over our feeble minds.
Not that a Democrat hasn't been caught with their hand in the cookie jar too, but if you are running on a god and country goodie two shoes platform, you'd better make sure that your laundry doesn't smell like last weeks underwear.
Meggie, it's time to step down and admit you screwed the pooch on this one. You have enough money that you can always buy another election somewhere else.
What do you think Democrats run on? Corruption and the United Nations? Wow - it's rare to get one to admit that... For your information, whether they are lying through their teeth or not, the vast majority of Democratic candidates also claim to believe in G-d and Country.
I want to see Gloria to do us a favor and file for the deportation of this illegal immigrant.
no question that Allred is taking advantage of the situation for Brown, but that doesn't make eMeg any less despicable.
“I believe Nicky is being manipulated by Gloria Allred for political and financial purposes during the last few weeks of a hotly contested election," Let's see, Allred has given $1,150 to Jerry Brown campaigns since 1982. Uhhh, that breaks down to $41.07 per year. Ya' think if Allred was a real Brown supporter she'd have at least bumped that up to $50 per year! What a STUPID comment from Whitman's campaign! C'mon, you gotta do better than that. LMAO!
We're all guilty. Don't you get it yet! Both poklitical parties indorsed the use of ileagals. Jeeezzzz!!!!!!!
All planned out. In early 1980’s both political parties endorsed and released “Workforce 2000” plans starting with the Fortune 500 companies. Workforce 2000 is Americas contribution to the new global economy. Jack Welch, then CEO of GE designed the model and the rest of the big leaguers followed in his foot steps. I remember it well working for a large aerospace company in So. Cal. We attended a four hour presentation on how America was going to change. We were to become a service oriented country. How labor intensive work was going to be out sourced. How Chinas average pay scale was a whopping .35 cents per day. The man hours it took us to build one large airplane would be an equivalent cost to the most expensive BMW motorcar. Were all our stock holder excited. The Demographics of America were also explained. Guess what? The Hispanic communities was going to be the major population in the LA basin area. That’s right. See where we are today. All part of the plan and don’t forget, all endorsed by both political parties. Then the whipshooding began. Jack Welch implemented a theme called, “Keeping the Ideas Coming”. Ref. March Fortune 500 article. With the threat, or inevitable loss of our jobs, he started a manipulation cooptation strategy to pick the employees brains and make them think they could compete and save their jobs/asses. As Americans Change so to speak and our earning power diminishes Americans will eventually take what they can get. Just like other third world counties did. Its Americas turn to become the stepchild. So when I hear and read about this new economy BS, remember our government has it all under control. The part I have trouble with is if people are not working and or making half of what they use to make, income tax revenue will drop as well. How dose a tax system expect to sustain and pay for basic services, afford a healthcare program and frequent handouts to the world in trouble?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comprehensive_Employment_and_Training_Act
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Works_Progress_Administration
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Youth_Administration
http://www.dol.gov/oasam/programs/history/carter-eta.htm
http://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/1983/03/art1full.pdf
http://www.doleta.gov/usworkforce/wia/wialaw.pdf
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Job_Training_Partnership_Act
I would think that exploiting the help would only gain her points with the Republican base. Undoubtedly, it's a practice that served her well in the corporate world.
I think ALRED is exploiting this women not WHitman
You can take them but you'll be getting two mouthy elite dimocrats - not two smart republican women!! what planet have you been on??
Shes spending her own money on her campaign. I have NEVER KNOWN a Rich person who looses money. She is going to get every dime back when she hits office. And its going to come right out of the California tax payers wallets.
or, more likely, from the corporate interests that own her...