Home Part of States Newsroom
Brief
Herbster fights the scope of subpoenas against “Trump world” trio who helped him

Share

Herbster fights the scope of subpoenas against “Trump world” trio who helped him

May 28, 2022 | 5:00 am ET
By Aaron Sanderford
Share
Herbster fights the scope of subpoenas against “Trump world” trio who helped him
Description
Charles Herbster, at right, appears with Kellyanne Conway at a campaign appearance at an Omaha VFW post. (Aaron Sanderford/Nebraska Examiner)

OMAHA — It’s not a question of if but how deeply “Trump world” will be dragged into dueling lawsuits between Nebraska businessman Charles Herbster and State Sen. Julie Slama. 

A new round of legal documents filed since May 19 in Slama’s counter-lawsuit against Herbster show that her lawyers are working to subpoena the records of at least three longtime aides of former President Donald Trump.

Herbster fights the scope of subpoenas against “Trump world” trio who helped him
Charles Herbster (Courtesy of Charles Herbster for Governor)

They are former Trump spokeswoman Kellyanne Conway, who served as Herbster’s national campaign manager; Corey Lewandowski, a Trump campaign manager and Herbster consultant; and David Bossie with Citizens United, who helped run Trump’s 2016 campaign and also consulted for Herbster.

Herbster’s legal team filed objections aiming to narrow the scope of the subpoenas sent to all three. His attorneys argued that some records and information being sought reached beyond the scope of Slama’s allegations.

State Sen. Julie Slama
State Sen. Julie Slama
(Courtesy of Unicameral Information Office)

Slama has accused Herbster of groping her during a 2019 Douglas County Republican Party fundraising dinner in Omaha. She was one of eight women who alleged in an April 14 Nebraska Examiner article that Herbster had groped them. 

Herbster, who denies any wrongdoing, sued Slama, alleging defamation of character. Slama counter-sued him, alleging sexual battery and defamation. 

Herbster’s attorneys also objected to the scope of subpoenas sent to two members of Herbster’s former campaign staff: campaign manager Ellen Keast and spokeswoman Emily Novotny. 

Herbster lost the Republican nomination for governor to University of Nebraska Regent Jim Pillen by four percentage points in the May 10 primary election, despite having the former president’s endorsement and spending more than $12 million on the race.

The first court hearing in the legal back-and-forth is scheduled for June 14 in Johnson County District Court. The hearing will be held at the Gage County Courthouse in Beatrice to get things moving more quickly. The judge’s assignment covers multiple counties.