A top adviser to President Joe Biden, whose prominent communications firm helped launch a high-profile effort to assist victims of sexual harassment, rape and assault, was also a paid adviser to a powerful Illinois politician while he was being sued by one of those victims.
Anita Dunn, co-founder of the communications firm SKDK and widely considered a member of the president’s inner circle, provided “crisis communications” assistance to Michael Madigan, who was then speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives, from 2018 to 2019. That work netted Dunn and her firm more than $200,000, according to campaign finance disclosures.
Madigan, who was also the leader of the state Democratic Party at the time, was not personally accused of sexual misconduct, but was being sued by a former employee of his political committees. That former employee, Alaina Hampton, alleged that Madigan retaliated against her when she reported that her direct supervisor had repeatedly harassed her in text messages.
While Dunn was advising Madigan, Hampton received support in her case from Dunn’s firm, which partnered with the anti-harassment charity Time’s Up. Dunn’s work for Madigan was specifically focused on responding to allegations stemming from Hampton’s lawsuit.
As a result, SKDK (the D stands for “Dunn”) was on the one hand supporting Hampton in her harassment and retaliation case through its partnership with Time’s Up, and on the other getting paid by a defendant in that very lawsuit.
Hampton said Dunn and SKDK’s representation of Madigan was not disclosed to her at the time.
“They never told me that they were also working for Michael Madigan, and had they disclosed that with me, I would have never applied for legal funding or PR support with them,” Hampton told NPR in an interview
“I’m playing both sides, so I always come out on top”
Anita Dunn
Sounds like normal lawyer stuff.
Can you ELI5? There are far too many people and roles for me to follow who did what.
As a result, SKDK (the D stands for “Dunn”) was on the one hand supporting Hampton in her harassment and retaliation case through its partnership with Time’s Up, and on the other getting paid by a defendant in that very lawsuit.
There’s only a potential conflict of interest for the client, aka the person paying for a consultation, and if the client was okay with it, then there’s not a problem, ethically, in the legal world. It’s not like the consultant was personally involved in the case except on one side, their involvement in times up is via donations.
Hampton said Dunn and SKDK’s representation of Madigan was not disclosed to her at the time.
“They never told me that they were also working for Michael Madigan, and had they disclosed that with me, I would have never applied for legal funding or PR support with them,” Hampton told NPR in an interview
I mean, dude, it’s right in the text of the post. You don’t even have to click the article to read it.
They had no ethical duty to disclose that to her, only their client. She wasn’t their client, she just got funding from an organization they’re tangentially connected to via donations. It’s right in the article.
Someone who helps legal victims of workplace harassment consulted with someone who was being sued for being connected to someone who committed workplace harassment, and allegedly retaliated against that person in the workplace.
Basically, like, imagine a lawyer who made a foundation to support prosecutions and victims of crime taking a client who wanted their help on a defense.
Shit, that’s what I thought it was, but when the names, titles, and roles started flying, I got lost. It was like when my wife comes home and excitedly wants to tell me a work-story, but she only uses pronouns, I often have to stop and ask, “mhmm mhmm, but who was ‘she?’”
