“I’m wearing this silver suit and stretchy pants, and after the photo, he smacks my ass really hard,” Villa said. “It was completely demeaning and shocking.”

In the moment, Villa said, she confronted him. “I said, ‘Watch it.’ Half-joking, I said, ‘I can report you for sexual harassment.’”

Lewandowski’s response, she said, was almost as shocking as the original slap.

“He said, ‘Go ahead, I work in the private sector,’” Villa recalled. “Then he smacks my ass again.” Villa’s recollection of the incident was corroborated by a friend who witnessed the exchange. The friend said he wished to remain anonymous, in part because of Lewandowski’s continued influence in Trump circles.