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Strong reaction to ex-staffer's book on Filner

Posted at 6:26 PM, Jan 28, 2016
and last updated 2016-01-28 21:26:05-05

There is harsh reaction one day after 10News aired the first TV interview with Lee Burdick, Bob Filner's former chief of staff.

Burdick spoke to Team 10 Investigator Allison Ash about her book, which is based on her journals during the final days before Filner stepped down as mayor of San Diego in the midst of a sexual harassment scandal.

In her book, Bob Filner's Monster: The Unraveling of an American Mayor and What We Can Learn from It, Burdick is critical of several people at City Hall, including City Attorney Jan Goldsmith. Burdick claims Goldsmith and others "trampled over innocent bystanders to bring him (Filner) down."

A spokesman for Goldsmith sent this statement to Team 10: "The City Attorney has acknowledged he was instrumental in Mr. Filner's resignation. Ms. Burdick was Mr. Filner's chief supporter and enabler. She wasn't innocent and we didn't trample over her, we bypassed her."

RELATED: Team 10: Former chief of staff opens up about 'Bob Filner's Monster'

Burdick also focused on attorney Gloria Allred's role in the Filner debacle. Allred made it clear that her clients, who were Filner's victims, wanted the mayor to resign. In the book, Burdick wrote: "When it came right down to it, Allred was really all about the money."

Allred told Ash that Burdick's words don't hold much credibility for her.

"She didn't stand up and take a stand until now, years later after he resigned, by writing a book which she's now selling for money," Allred said.

Burdick's book criticizes Allred's motives again when she held a news conference with Filner's fiancée, Bronwyn Ingram. Ingram told reporters it was time for Filner to step down, but Burdick wrote: "Like every one of Allred's other press conferences, this wasn't about the victims. This was about Allred using a victim to secure a media forum."

Ingram told Team 10, "Gloria Allred is a very intelligent attorney and she protects her clients in a fierce way. Gloria Allred worked with me for the greater good."

As for Burdick, Ingram said, "She's the biggest apologist for Bob's behavior. She defended him."