The decades-old video has been provided by the Oprah Winfrey Network. | AP Photo Oprah gives tape with Puzder abuse allegations to Senate

Senators in both parties have viewed an episode of "The Oprah Winfrey Show" in which President Donald Trump's Labor Secretary nominee Andrew Puzder's former wife leveled allegations of physical abuse against him, according to sources familiar with the matter.

The decades-old video, which is not easily found, has been provided by the Oprah Winfrey Network, those sources said. The video has been provided to senators in a Capitol Hill office building, according to people who have seen it.


"I’ve arranged for senators on the committee to see that ... I thought that was a reasonable request. No reason not to see it," said HELP Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.). "That happened 27 years ago. His former wife has said it was all not true. She has reiterated that in a heartfelt letter to members of the committee and has been willing to talk to members of the committee so I don’t think that’s an issue. “

The episode is called "High-Class Battered Women," according to a source familiar with the matter. It aired in March, 1990.

Alexander said he supports Puzder's nomination. But Patty Murray (D-Wash.), the top Democrat on the HELP Committee that will vote on Puzder's nomination, said she was "deeply troubled" by the video.

"It was important for us to know all of the information about any candidate that comes before us," Murray said in an interview.

Last month POLITICO reported that Puzder's former wife, Lisa Fierstein, appeared in disguise on Oprah to discuss her abuse allegations, which she has since retracted, most recently in a letter to the Senate HELP Committee.

The HELP Committee asked OWN for all episodes about domestic violence between 1985 and 1990, OWN said in a written statement, and OWN turned over 20 “for the committee members to review in confidence.” OWN "did not provide copies or transcript of the episodes and has not provided information about the identities of anyone who appeared,” it said.

Susan Collins (R-Maine) has reviewed the episode, as well.

Collins is among at least four GOP senators undecided on Puzder, whose confirmation hearing has been scheduled for Thursday. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Johnny Isakson of Georgia and Tim Scott of South Carolina are also not decided on his nomination. All serve on the HELP Committee. Puzder can only lose two GOP votes if all Democrats oppose his nomination on the Senate floor. It could take just one GOP defection to tag his nomination as "unfavorable" in a committee vote, though Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell could still bring the nomination to the floor.

The abuse allegations are only one of the controversies dogging Puzder. His nomination was rocked last week after his spokesman said he had employed an undocumented immigrant for years. The fast-food executive also apprenticed to a Mafia-connected lawyer early in his career, drew criticism for conditions for workers at his CKE restaurant chain and faced accusations of sexism over advertisements showing bikini-clad women eating his company's hamburgers.

Scott bristled at reports that indicated he opposed Puzder. Still, he said it was "concerning" that it took Puzder five years to pay back taxes on the undocumented immigrant who once worked for him.

"I have not come out with a position," Scott said. "I've never said I was opposed to him, at all."

Collins did not say whether the video swayed her. The Maine senator also said she'd inquired about making the video public but was told it was merely being provided so senators could come to their own decisions.

"I was told that it's owned by the Oprah Network and they will not share it. I couldn't even have my staff view it," she said.

Not all senators on the HELP Committee have seen it. Both Democratic Sens. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania and Tim Kaine of Virginia said they had not.

GOP leaders said that they were confident Puzder would prevail regardless of the swirl of controversy around him. Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer has called on Trump to withdraw Puzder's nomination, which is now Democrats' top target as Republican leaders fight to get their 52-member caucus behind him.

Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn (R-Texas) said the nomination was "all good."

"Full speed ahead. I've talked to a number of [undecided senators] and I'm confident he'll be confirmed. He's a good nominee," Cornyn said.

Collins said nothing about what Fierstein said on the tape. Another senator who has viewed the video also declined to describe it.

Fierstein’s accusations first surfaced in local news reports around the time of her divorce from Puzder. She has since suggested she made them up to bolster her divorce settlement. Puzder has always denied that he abused her.

Fierstein appeared on the Oprah show in a wig and glasses, and was identified only by the made-up name of Ann.

View Puzder 'vowed revenge,' wife told Oprah An excerpt of 1990 interview of 'The Oprah Winfrey Show' with Lisa Fierstein, ex-wife of Andrew Puzder. POLITICO obtained the tape from Charlotte Fedders, a fellow guest on the Winfrey show.

The Campaign For Accountability, a left-leaning nonprofit, will appear Tuesday in court in St. Louis County to try to unseal divorce-related documents concerning the abuse charges that were sealed the day after President Donald Trump tapped Puzder for the job.

One document that wasn't sealed, a 1988 petition, shows Fierstein accused Puzderof having "assaulted and battered [her] by striking her violently about the face, chest, back, shoulders, and neck, without provocation or cause," and that as a consequence she “suffered severe and permanent injuries.”

The judge in the case dismissed the petition, in which Fierstein sought $350,000 in damages, on the grounds that Puzder's divorce agreement had already settled all Fierstein's prior claims against him.

But Fierstein's allegations of abuse weren’t confined to filings related to a divorce agreement. Court documents indicate that Fierstein filed an abuse claim against Puzder before the divorce — within a couple of weeks of the alleged May 1986 domestic violence incident. Fierstein also sought a protective court order against Puzder, documents show. The couple formally separated in June,1986.