Watch CBS News

Report: Trump attorney sends threatening emails to stranger

President Trump's personal attorney for the Russia matter sent a series of disparaging, profane, and perhaps threatening emails to a stranger Wednesday night, according to ProPublica.

The online kerfuffle began Wednesday evening after a retired public relations professional, who was not named by ProPublica, sent Trump lawyer Marc Kasowitz an email with the subject line "Resign Now."

The man had seen a segment on MSNBC concerning another ProPublica report about Kasowitz. In his email, he said that while the two did not know each other, he believed that it was in Kasowitz's best interest to resign.

Trump Jr.'s release of Russia emails a "watershed event"? 04:36

"No good can come of this and, in fact, your name may be [sic] turn out  to be a disparaging historical footnote to the presidency of DJT," the man wrote. The email was sent at 9:28 p.m. Eastern time to Kasowitz's email account at his law firm.

Kasowitz's first reply came just five minutes later. "F*** you," he wrote, according to ProPublica.

Fifteen minutes later, Kasowitz sent another email to the man: "And you don't know me, but I will know you How dare you send me an email like that I'm on you now You are f****** with me now Let's see who you are Watch your back, b****"

The man then sent a response of his own. "Thank you for your kind reply," he wrote. "I may be in touch as appropriate."

Kasowitz then sent several more emails to the man, including one containing a phone number that is not public. ProPublica says in their report that Kasowitz uses the phone number.

"You are such a piece of s***," Kasowitz wrote. "Call me. Don't be afraid, you piece of s***. Stand up. If you don't call, you're just afraid. Call me."

A few minutes later, Kasowitz fired off another email. "I'm Jewish," he wrote. "I presume you are too. Stop being afraid. Call me. Or give me your number and I will call you. I already know where you live, I'm on you. You might as well call me. You will see me. I promise. Bro."

The ProPublica report that the man had seen, and which prompted his email to Kasowitz after the MSNBC story, alleges that Kasowitz is not pursuing a security clearance. The report states that this is in part due to a recent history of alcohol abuse, which would make obtaining a clearance harder.

A spokesman for Kasowitz said that "he had not struggled with alcoholism," and disputed other parts of the story. Kasowitz's spokesman did not return a request for comment about the email story, according to ProPublica. 

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.