By Heather Grossmann
DNAinfo News Editor
MANHATTAN — It’s been a rough and tumble week for those close to Rev. Al Sharpton.
Last Thursday — the same day that the boyfriend of Sharpton’s daughter, Dominique, was arraigned for allegedly punching her twice in the face — Sharpton’s top aide Rachel Noerdlinger was arrested on misdemeanor assault charges.
There are differing reports of the Feb. 5 altercation in the Bronx that led to the arrest two weeks later of Sharpton’s spokeswoman and the manager of his 2004 presidential bid.
The New York Post characterized the event as a “brawl” between Noerdlinger, 39, and her boyfriend’s ex, Myasia Layne, 20. Layne claimed that Noerdlinger had kicked and punched her after Layne opened the door to the Bronx apartment of Noerdlinger’s boyfriend, Hassaun McFarlan, the Post reported.
But Noerdlinger called the charges “grossly distorted” in an e-mailed comment and her lawyer, Jeffrey Lichtman, said that it was Layne who assaulted Noerdlinger and left her with scratches.
“The case is so ludicrous on its face that it will be immediately dismissed,” Lichtman said in a phone interview.
“Because of the hatred for Sharpton, this woman has been thrown under the bus,” Lichtman continued, attributing the Post’s exaggeration and the leaks by its police sources to a shared dislike of Sharpton.
The lawyer said that his client had called him right after the incident, but said that she didn't want to bother going to the police because it was just a silly "cat fight."
Lichtman said that Noerdlinger and her boyfriend McFarlan live together and called the case "dopey," saying, "anyone can get arrested for assault."
The attorney also expressed his anger about the leaked information on Noerdlinger’s 2007 sealed arrest record, again blaming it on the NYPD’s animosity for Sharpton and noting that Noerdlinger wasn’t even charged in that arrest, which was why it was sealed.
Noerdlinger is scheduled to make a desk appearance in a Bronx court on April 27.
