Former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski was asked in a Fox Business Network interview if he had drunk “a little merlot with dinner” and was told he sounded “a little slurry.”
Lewandowski Suggests He Won’t Run for Senate
Corey Lewandowski told a local radio host “it’s fair” to say he is reconsidering a Senate run to defend President Trump from impeachment and help him get reelected, Politico reports.
Lewandowski May Lead White House Impeachment Team
Corey Lewandowski has had conversations with White House officials in recent days about potentially taking a position inside the administration to help Trump confront a looming impeachment fight, CNN reports.
“The discussions, including a Thursday afternoon meeting at the White House, reflect the growing recognition among Trump’s allies and advisers that he is without a clear strategy for managing the crisis, which exploded in stunning fashion this week.”
RNC Paid $160K to Law Firm Representing Lewandowski
The RNC paid over $160,000 to a law firm that is defending former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski, CNBC reports.
The payment was made a month before his testimony in front of the House Judiciary Committee.
House Judiciary Subpoenas Lewandowski to Testify
The House Judiciary Committee subpoenaed former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski and former White House official Rick Dearborn to testify on Sept. 17 about potential obstruction of justice by President Trump, Axios reports.
CNN: “White House officials have been engaged in preliminary discussions about invoking executive privilege to limit Lewandowski from complying with a congressional subpoena, despite Lewandowski never serving in any role in the administration”
Lewandowski Says He Could Beat John Kelly In a Fight
Former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski told TMZ that while he never got into a physical altercation with White House chief of staff John Kelly, as was reported, he could take on the 68-year old retired general in a fight.
Secret Service Intervened In White House Fight
“An argument last February between the White House chief of staff, John F. Kelly, and Corey Lewandowski, an informal adviser to President Trump, turned into a physical altercation that required Secret Service intervention just outside the Oval Office,” the New York Times reports.
“The episode, details of which have not been previously reported, is the latest illustration of the often chaotic atmosphere Mr. Trump is willing to tolerate in the White House as well as a reflection of the degree to which Mr. Kelly’s temper can be provoked.”
“The near brawl — during which Mr. Kelly grabbed Mr. Lewandowski by the collar and tried to have him ejected from the West Wing — came at a time when the chief of staff was facing uncertainty about how long Mr. Trump would keep him in his job. A guessing game over his departure has colored his tenure ever since.”
Lewandowski Says Only Bloomberg Could Challenge Trump
Former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski told the New York Post that former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg is the “only one” who would be competitive with Trump in 2020 “because he’s a job creator, has widespread name ID, boundless money and isn’t saddled with Washington baggage.”
Said Lewandowski: “If I were a Democrat strategist… and somebody said to me ‘who do you want to be the Democrat nominee for president of the United States?’ there’s only one name I would choose … and his name is Michael Bloomberg.”
Quote of the Day
“Womp womp.”
— Former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski, on Fox News, after it was mentioned that a 10-year-old girl with Down Syndrome was separated from her mother at the border.
Pence Hires Lewandowski for Midterms
“Corey Lewandowski, who helped Donald Trump win the Republican nomination, is getting back in the campaign game,” Fox News reports.
“He is joining Vice President Pence’s political action committee, which will enable him to travel with the VP and puts him firmly back in the president’s 2020 reelection orbit.”
Lewandowski Will Travel with Trump for Midterms
“Lewandowski in recent months has been encouraged to repair relationships with officials at the RNC, whose work he had previously trashed, in order to become more involved in the party’s 2018 strategy,” a source told BuzzFeed News.
“Lewandowski’s cameo at the Michigan rally was not a one-off, spontaneous event, according to a source close to the president who is involved in 2018 strategy. The plan is to have the former campaign manager travel more with the president for rallies ahead of November’s elections. He’s already made some appearances at events with Vice President Mike Pence, as he travels the country selling the tax code overhaul to voters.”
Lewandowski Says He Didn’t Hire Cambridge Analytica
Former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski told NBC News that he never approved Cambridge Analytica’s contract.
Said Lewandowski: “They did not work for the campaign when I was the manager… They pitched me three times, three times I said no. They did not come to the campaign until after I left.”
He also said he had not been subpoenaed by special counsel Robert Mueller: “I can say that during my tenure… which is all I can speak to, I saw no Russians.”
Lewandowski Spoke to Data Firm Before Announcement
Christopher Wylie, a former employee of British-based company Cambridge Analytica, told NBC News that the company misused personal Facebook data of some 50 million people.
Said Wylie: “I left Cambridge Analytica before it joined the Trump campaign. What I do know is that Cambridge Analytica was meeting with Corey Lewandowski in 2015 before Trump had even announced.”
Kelly Eyes Lewandowski Warily
Playbook: “Tension between White House chief of staff John Kelly’s office and Trump’s former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski is escalating over his ongoing access and influence over Trump. Sources close to the White House say Kelly’s team believes Lewandowski does more harm than good at this point and needs to be cut off.”
Trump Aides Blamed Lewandowski for Porter ‘Smear’
White House officials told Sen. Orrin Hatch’s (R-UT) office that the story that White House staff secretary Rob Porter had abused his two ex-wives was the product of a “smear campaign” being orchestrated against Porter by his political enemies, the Daily Beast reports.
“Among those they pinpointed was former Trump campaign manager (and current outside adviser to the president) Corey Lewandowski… Multiple White House staffers told Hatch himself that Lewandowski ‘was digging into Rob’s previous marriages,’ recalled one source, who said Porter himself was among the officials who fingered Lewandowski.”
[alert type=”general” dismiss=”no”]The backstory: Porter is currently romantically-involved with White House communications director Hope Hicks, who previously dated Lewandowski.[/alert]
Lewandowski to Testify Before House Intelligence
“Corey Lewandowski is scheduled to take questions next week from congressional investigators looking into possible collusion between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin,” the Daily Beast reports.
“Lewandowski is one of several witnesses the House intelligence committee plans to interview as part of its Trump-Russia investigation. Reached for comment, Lewandowski indicated he will take questions, rather than pleading the fifth as other witnesses have done.”
Lewandowski Declined Job Offer from Trump
Daily Beast: “Trump had asked if he wanted a job that would place him in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, across the way from the West Wing… According to two people who spoke with Lewandowski, he ‘strongly’ considered taking the gig, in hopes of getting to serve Trump in an official capacity once more. However, he came to the conclusion that the job wasn’t senior enough, telling friends that it was ‘beneath him.’”
Lewandowski Appears to Be Working as a Lobbyist Again
Politico: “Months after Corey Lewandowski, Donald Trump’s former campaign manager, quit the lobbying firm he co-founded after the 2016 election, he appears to be working with a new one, reviving questions about whether he is still cashing in on his relationship with the president. The firm, Turnberry Solutions LLC — a name that calls to mind Trump Turnberry, the president’s Scottish golf resort — is staffed by two lobbyists who worked for Lewandowski’s old firm.”
“While Lewandowski has denied any link to the firm, there’s plenty of evidence to the contrary. Lewandowski was on a recent conference call between Turnberry and one of its clients, according to the client, and Turnberry also created an email address with his first name on it.”
