White House Communications Director Anita Dunn (C) talks with White House Senior Adviser David Axelrod in a May 1, 2009, file photo. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Former Obama White House official Anita Dunn, who later served as an adviser to disgraced mogul Harvey Weinstein has joined the campaign of former Vice President Joe Biden, according to reports.
Dunn, the managing director at SDKnickerbocker, was previously advising Biden as he contemplated running for president. He officially launched his campaign on April 25.
Two sources told The Hill that Dunn will be serving as an adviser to Biden as he vies for the presidency.
Dunn was part of a team of public relations professionals and lawyers who counseled Weinstein over a New York Times article exploring a number of on-the-record claims of sexual harassment against the media mogul, according to the openly liberal Buzzfeed website.
A source told the website that Dunn wasn't paid for her help but that she offered her PR advice, including in regard to a Sept. 23, 2017, story about Weinstein's work with a charity.
Harvey Weinstein (L) arrives with his lawyer Benjamin Brafman for a court hearing at New York Criminal Court in New York City on Dec. 20, 2018. Spencer Platt/Getty Images
Former Vice President Joe Biden arrives at a rally organized by UFCW Union members to support Stop and Shop employees on strike throughout the region at the Stop and Shop in Dorchester, Mass., on April 18, 2019. Joseph Prezioso/AFP/Getty Images
In response, SDKnickerbocker released a statement saying: "Today you may have seen a news report indicating that our colleague Anita Dunn recently advised Harvey Weinstein. Anita was asked to speak with him by a friend. Weinstein and Miramax are not now and have never been clients of our firm or of Anita’s. If you know Anita, you can only imagine what she said to him. Our commitment to defending women’s rights remains as strong as ever."
Dunn told the Daily Mail on Thursday that she wasn't "working" for Weinstein but admitted to meeting with him. She didn't answer questions about whether she was paid for her counsel.
Biden is facing a slew of accusations by women who said he made them feel uncomfortable when he invaded their personal space. Weinstein, on the other hand, was accused of rape and sexual assault by a number of women.
In January, Dunn told the left-leaning NPR that the Democratic candidate for president would need to figure out how to challenge Trump.
"The winner of the Democratic nomination will be the candidate who successfully figures out how to engage Trump, how to challenge Trump, how to take him on, on issues and how to communicate with the voters who voted for him in 2016. And that's why this is going to be a primary process we need to have as Democrats because it's not clear the most effective way to do this," Dunn said.
"In 2016, we saw an entire field of Republican candidates not do it effectively. Each Democrat is going to figure out their way, but the person who wins the nomination will be the person who figures this out."
Anita Dunn (L) and Hilary B. Rosen speak onstage at Women Rule: The L.A. Summit' at NeueHouse Hollywood in Los Angeles, on June 5, 2018. Emma McIntyre/Getty Images
Then-President Barack Obama (C) walks with Senior White House Adviser David Plouffe (L) and Anita Dunn to debate preparation at the Kingsmill Resort in Williamsburg, Va. on Oct. 16, 2012. Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images
"I'm like a lot of Democrats. I like whoever can beat Donald Trump," she added.
Dunn was also White House communications director at the beginning of Obama's first term until November 2009.
While speaking to a group of high schoolers in her capacity as an administration official in June 2009, Dunn expressed admiration for Chinese dictator Mao Zedong, whose policies led to the deaths of tens of millions of people.
"The third lesson and tip actually come from two of my favorite political philosophers, Mao Zedong and Mother Teresa—not often coupled with each together, but the two people that I turn to most to basically deliver a simple point, which is, you’re going to make choices. You’re going to challenge. You’re going to say, “Why not?” You’re going to figure out how to do things that have never been done before. But here’s the deal: These are your choices. They are no one else’s," Dunn said, reported the openly conservative Breitbart website.
Dunn later claimed that Mao's takeover of China could teach people a lesson.
"Think about that for a second. You don’t have to accept the definition of how to do things, and you don’t have to follow other people’s choices and paths, OK?" she said. "It is about your choices and your path."
