Housekeeping Problems

Katy Grimes: The poster child of ambulance-chasing, fame-seeking lawyers, has done it again. Attorney Gloria Allred (of Amber Frey and Rachel Uchitel fame), tried her hand with an “October surprise” in the gubernatorial race. But it doesn’t appear to be panning out, according to legal experts.

Allred has inserted herself into another strange case, and is now representing the former housekeeper of gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman. The housekeeper is accusing Whitman of poor treatment and of course, of knowing that she was employing an illegal alien.

But today, attorneys John Eastman and Irwin Chemerinsky, together on the Hugh Hewitt radio show, agreed that Whitman didn’t have any legal choice other than to terminate the housekeeper. As soon as the housekeeper revealed that the she had provided false I-9 immigration documentation and a bogus Social Security number when first employed by Whitman, the only appropriate legal action was termination.

During the news conference today,”A tearful Nicky Diaz detailed how she suffered as an employee of the former eBay CEO,”  reported one news site.

Allred’s press release reads:

Meg Whitman’s housekeeper for 9 years will hold a news conference today, Wednesday, September 29, 2010 at 11:00 A.M. to tell how she suffered as a long time Latina household employee in Meg Whitman’s home and why she is filing a claim against Ms. Whitman.

Ms. Whitman is the Republican nominee for Governor of California.

The news conference will be held at the office of attorney, Gloria Allred, at 6300 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 1500, Los Angeles, Ms. Allred represents the housekeeper.

Ms. Whitman’s former employee will be making what are sure to be controversial and explosive allegations about her former employer.

No interviews will be given by the housekeeper or Ms. Allred prior to the news conference. Press credentials are required to be admitted.

Interestingly, Gloria Allred was on the Hugh Hewitt show today as well, but hung on up Hewitt part of the way through the interview.

Hewitt wrote on his website: “Gloria was my guest today, but she hung up.  The audio and transcript below are self-explanatory.  Every media account of her press conference tomorrow should mention that she couldn’t or wouldn’t state the law on air.

A few interesting exchanges in the transcript:

HH: No, I want to get to the press conference you held today. I want to start by I asked Erwin Chemerinsky…

GA: Yes, and our press conference today, I might add, has literally nothing to do with sexual harassment.

HH: Right. Gloria Allred, Erwin Chemerinsky, great, big lawyer, you know him. I had him on earlier today, big lefty, and I asked him about your allegations today. Here’s what Erwin had to say.

HH: What would you do, Erwin, if someone you had employed either as the nanny or the housekeeper, or one of those situations, and they’d given you all the documents, and they show up after many years, and they’re now a beloved member of the household. They’re not family, but they’re part of the household. What would you do?

EC: Well, it’s obviously a wrenching situation. I think that if that were to happen, you can’t continue to employ the person lawfully. You could decide you’re going to do it illegally and take the political and legal heat if it happens, because you don’t want to lose this person from your household. But as with any act of civil disobedience, if you violate the law, you know there might be consequences. And the more public you are, the more likely those consequences will be to happen.

HH: Gloria, that’s the dean of the UCI Law School, a great liberal. Is he wrong?

GA: Well, I’m not sure what your question is.

HH: Has Erwin got the law wrong? Should…

GA: Well, I’m not here to comment on Erwin. I’m only here to talk about my client and what happened to her. Now if you don’t want to talk about…

HH: No, but Erwin commented that Meg Whitman had no choice but to…

GA: She was employed by Meg Whitman in her home as a housekeeper, and as sometimes, and part of that time, as a nanny as well for nine years, then we will talk about her.

The audio of Hewitt’s conversation with Gloria Allred is here. and be sure to read the written transcript.

MSNBC reported, 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.

Allred has for many years made a mockery of the legal profession, and this case is just one more in her embarrassing charade of a career.

SEPT. 29, 2010