Bo dug dirt for Bannon
Aided far-right guru in wife-beat case
MAYORAL hopeful Bo Dietl has a dubious connection to Stephen Bannon.
The chief White House strategist once hired Dietl, a former cop and private investigator, to dig up dirt on his ex-wife, according to a report.
Bannon, the former head of the far-right website Breitbart News who’s been connected to white nationalism, was accused of roughing up his wife in 1996 during an argument at his California home. The case added to the opposition to his White House appointment.
According to The New York Times, Bannon hired Dietl to help him out of the jam, one of several connections that could damage Dietl’s standing among female voters.
Dietl’s firm was also hired to spy on Gretchen Carlson and Andrea Tantaros, Fox News personalities who accused then-Chairman Roger Ailes of sexual harassment. While critics said Dietl’s involvement in both cases were ways for him to attack women, Dietl said he was just doing his job.
“Everybody has a right to defend themselves under the Constitution,” Dietl told The Times. “We were hired not to ‘dig up dirt’ but to find the truth and facts about the person who is suing.”
Dietl said he has saved countless women as a police officer and an investigator, and that it was unfair to focus on just a few cases over the course of a 32-year career.
Dietl, 66, has a history with Bannon going back to the 1980s. “My friend Steve Bannon of 30 years, he’s heading up the White House there,” Dietl told radio host Don Imus a week after Donald Trump was elected President. “It’s a great thing. I’ve known him 30 years. He’s a great American.”
Dietl, a former Fox News contributor, was more than just a guest on Imus’ program, which used to broadcast on the Fox Business Network.
When Imus found himself in a disagreement with a former associate, he hired Dietl to talk the man into backing down, according to The Times.
Lawyers for Fox News retained Dietl’s company in 2004 to investigate a network producer who had accused host Bill O’Reilly of sexual harassment.
A short time later, he was named a Fox News contributor, a gig that came with a $700 check for each appearance and high visibility. The Times said Dietl also provided free investigative services to Fox brass, including Imus and host Sean Hannity.