Liberty University’s chief information officer was hired by Donald Trump’s former personal attorney, Michael Cohen, to manipulate two online polls prior to Trump declaring his candidacy, according to The Wall Street Journal.
John Gauger, who owns Red Finch Solutions, based in Forest, Virginia, tells the Journal that his work for Cohen “consisted of trying unsuccessfully to manipulate two online polls in Mr. Trump’s favor.”
When contacted by 10 News, Gauger gave no comment on this story.
In 2012, the Journal reports that Gauger helped Cohen create an Instagram account and gave him his cellphone number if he needed any more help.
In January 2014, Gauger told the Journal that Cohen asked him to help Trump score well in a CNBC online poll identifying the nation’s top business leaders “by writing a computer script to repeatedly vote for [Trump].”
Then, in February 2015, Gauger told the Journal that Cohen asked him to help Trump score well in a Drudge Report poll of potential Republican candidates.
The Journal reports that Trump finished fifth in the poll, with about 24,000 votes, 5% of the total.
Gauger told the Journal that Cohen had him do other jobs after these two.
One of those was creating the Twitter account @WomenForCohen, which is still active, but last tweeted on Dec. 28, 2016.
The bio for the account says:
Women who love and support Michael Cohen. Strong, pit bull, sex symbol, no nonsense, business oriented, and ready to make a difference!
Gauger last spoke with Cohen in April 2018, shortly after the raid by federal agents on Cohen’s legal office, according to the Journal.
Liberty University released this statement to 10 News:
Liberty University, like many other educational institutions, has permitted its employees for many years to engage in business, consulting and other side work that does not interfere with their employment obligations to the University. Also, like other organizations, Liberty recognizes the strong demand for highly skilled IT professionals creates special challenges in recruiting and retaining talented employees with those skills and experience. The opportunity for Liberty’s IT employees to develop businesses and products is particularly important to attracting and maintaining Liberty’s IT talent. John Gauger is one example among many outstanding LU employees who have made great contributions in their official roles and also enjoyed success as independent entrepreneurs, allowing them to enhance their capabilities and generate more revenue for their families while allowing the University to retain them on our team.
SOURCE: Jeff Williamson
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