A lawsuit filed in North Carolina by a former Trump campaign staffer, Vincent Bordini, says that the campaign did nothing after then-state campaign director Earl Phillip pulled a gun on him in February of 2016. “Vincent eventually described the incident to Trump Campaign Manager Corey Lewandowski,” the suit says. “In response, the Trump Campaign neither terminated nor suspended Phillip.”
Phillip was apparently replaced as state director last week. Since this happened six months after the alleged incident, it’s likely that the personnel change was due to Trump losing his lead in the state polls.
The local CBS affiliate in Charlotte obtained a copy of the lawsuit, which tells the story of when Phillip allegedly pulled his gun on Bordini during a Jeep ride. It reads like bad Raymond Chandler:
25. Phillip pushed the barrel into Vincent’s knee. The barrel’s pressure crinkled Vincent’s blue jeans. Phillip ominously stared sidewise at Vincent while driving the Jeep down the road and the barrel into Vincent.
26. Vincent froze. Phillip’s gun was loaded and the safety was off. A bump in the road would likely result in a bullet hole, and worse, in Vincent’s knee.
27. Once the initial shock wore off, Vincent said, “What the fuck are you doing?” Phillip put the gun away as if nothing had happened. Phillip drove on and didn’t talk about it again. Petrified, Vincent kept his mouth shut.
Bordini then says he told another North Carolina staffer, the regional director for western North Carolina, about the incident: “The [regional] Director responded, ‘that must have been the .45.’ The Director told Vincent that Phillip had previously done the same thing to him and he was terrified of Phillip.”