Oprah Winfrey has gotten involved in Andy Puzder’s nomination for labor secretary, providing the Senate committee considering Puzder with video of his ex-wife’s domestic violence allegations.
The decades-old video, which is not easily found, has been provided by the Oprah Winfrey Network, those sources said. The video has been provided to senators in a Capitol Hill office building, according to people who have seen it. OWN did not immediately comment for this story. [...]
[Lisa] Fierstein’s accusations first surfaced in local news reports around the time of her divorce from Puzder. She has since suggested she made them up to bolster her divorce settlement. Puzder has always denied that he abused her.
Fierstein appeared on the Oprah show in a wig and glasses, and was identified only by the made-up name of Ann.
Fierstein wrote in a letter to the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee that she had been “hesitant” to go on Oprah, “but encouraged by friends and became caught up in the notion of a free trip to Chicago and being a champion of women and women’s issues. I regret my decision to appear on that show.” She has repeatedly said her abuse allegations were false and related to her efforts to get a better divorce settlement. However:
Fierstein's allegations of abuse weren’t confined to filings related to a divorce agreement. Court documents indicate that Fierstein filed an abuse claim against Puzder before the divorce — within a couple of weeks of the alleged May 1986 domestic violence incident. Fierstein also sought a protective court order against Puzder, documents show. The couple formally separated in June,1986.
We don’t know what happened between Puzder and Fierstein. We do know, however, that Puzder has been the CEO of a company with repeated wage theft violations and racial discrimination lawsuits, which casts some question on his fitness to fulfill the mission of the Department of Labor and “foster, promote, and develop the welfare of the wage earners, job seekers, and retirees of the United States; improve working conditions; advance opportunities for profitable employment; and assure work-related benefits and rights.”