Who Is Michelle Manning Barish? Eric Schneiderman Accused By Ex-Girlfriend Of Abuse

One of the women who accused New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman of “non-consensual physical violence,” resulting in his resignation from office Monday, was his ex-girlfriend, Michelle Manning Barish.

Barish, aged 47, is a Florida native and studied English at Florida International University and Urban Humanitarian Emergency Crisis Management at Harvard University. She is a political activist and a divorced single mother. She began rallying against the Iraq War and to bring back the troops when her brother was deployed to the Arab nation.

She is also a blogger for the Huffington Post. According to her bio on the publication's website, Barish's "purpose and passion is to create positive social change, revealing injustices and inspiring others through mindfulness and a feeling of empowerment and connectedness to create the change in the world we all hope to see.”

Following her humanitarian aid relief work in the Rockaways in Queens, New York, after Hurricane Sandy, she wrote a candid piece about the absence of timely resources from the Red Cross and released a video on the importance of staying prepared to handle emergency situations, titled "Bee Prepared: GO BAGS with Michelle Manning Barish.”

She said what most attracted her to Schneiderman, aged 63, five years ago was the fact that he was a rising star in the world of politics and shared a number of progressive ideas she had. However, while dating him, she soon expereicned his alleged darker side.

In an interview with the New Yorker on Monday, Barish claimed Schneiderman, whom she dated from the summer of 2013 until New Year’s Day in 2015, first began showing his aggressive side when he asked her to get rid of a tattoo because it did not go with the image of his potential wife. However, the last straw was a night in 2013 when he allegedly assaulted her after a night of drinking.

She said he called her a “w---e” after both of them got into bed and then, “all of a sudden, he just slapped me, open-handed and with great force, across the face, landing the blow directly onto my ear.”

“It was horrendous. It just came out of nowhere. My ear was ringing. I lost my balance and fell backward onto the bed. I sprang up, but at this point there was very little room between the bed and him. I got up to try to shove him back, or take a swing, and he pushed me back down. He then used his body weight to hold me down, and he began to choke me. The choking was very hard. It was really bad. I kicked. In every fiber, I felt I was being beaten by a man," she added.

Barish left his apartment, telling the former AG that they were through.

Schneiderman denied the accusations against him, telling The New Yorker in a statement that “in the privacy of intimate relationships, I have engaged in role-playing and other consensual sexual activity. I have not assaulted anyone. I have never engaged in non consensual sex, which is a line I would not cross.”

However, Barish said the violence was not inflicted on her during sexual intercourse because they were not getting intimate at the time.

“This was under no circumstances a sex game gone wrong. This did not happen while we were having sex. I was fully dressed and remained that way. It was completely unexpected and shocking. I did not consent to physical assault,” she said.

Barish said they maintained their on and off relationship for two more years despite Schneiderman’s continued physical and verbal assaults till they finally split in 2015.

At the time of their breakup, Page Six reported that the reason for the couple’s split was because Schneiderman was “very much focused on his political career.”

Although Barish confided the details of the abuse to her close friend, novelist Salman Rushdie, she never filed a police complaint. The New York Police Department has confirmed that it "has no complaints on file" against Schneiderman and that "if the NYPD receives complaints of a crime, it will investigate them thoroughly."

So why did Barish decide to speak up now?

“For my daughter and for all women. I could not remain silent and encourage other women to be brave for me. I could not...” she tweeted, shortly after her interview was published by the New Yorker.

Schneiderman’s ex-wife lobbyist Jennifer Cunningham defended him, telling Variety, “I’ve known Eric for nearly 35 years as a husband, father, and friend. These allegations are completely inconsistent with the man I know, who has always been someone of the highest character, outstanding values and a loving father. I find it impossible to believe these allegations are true.”

Apart from Barish, Tanya Selvaratnam — a second ex-girlfriend — and two other anonymous women have also accused Schneiderman of physical abuse.