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Corey Lewandowski Testifies Before Congress: Live Updates Corey Lewandowski Testifies Before Congress: Live Updates
(37 minutes later)
Mr. Lewandowski began his appearance before the House Judiciary Committee with remarks that sounded more like a campaign speech than testimony in a congressional investigation, signaling that he plans to use the hearing to burnish his own political brand while fiercely defending the president.
“I had the privilege — and it was a privilege — of helping transform the Trump campaign from a dedicated but small, makeshift organization to a historically and unprecedented political juggernaut,” Mr. Lewandowski said in his comments, which began by branding Democrats’ inquiry into whether to impeach Mr. Trump “very unfair.”
Because he is testifying under oath, Mr. Lewandowski may have little choice but to publicly confirm again what he privately told Robert S. Mueller III, the special counsel who investigated Russia’s interference in the 2016 elections. But his remarks could have doubled as a campaign address from a carbon copy of the president himself. It was punctuated with references to the scourge of illegal immigration, knocks on Hillary Clinton, and brutal takedowns of Democrats.
“The House Majority has failed the American people,” Mr. Lewandowski said. “Both by supporting illegal immigrants pouring across our borders killing innocent Americans and failing to solve the opioid crisis, where 130 Americans die daily from overdoses — that’s the equivalent of a 9/11-level tragedy occurring every 23 days.
[Read his full opening statement.]
Given that he has been considering a run for the Senate from New Hampshire for the last several weeks, Mr. Lewandowski and his allies see the hearing as an opportunity to promote his allegiance to Mr. Trump in a way that could benefit him politically.
In a Twitter post early Tuesday, Mr. Lewandowski offered a sample of what was to come.
Mr. Lewandowski has talked to allies about recapturing the outsider energy that Mr. Trump tapped into during the Republican primary in New Hampshire in February 2016. The hearing gives him a powerful platform to attack Democrats as bent on destroying the president, and to portray himself as a fierce defender of his former boss. It is also a chance for Mr. Lewandowski to show the public how Trumpian he can be, and to prove his loyalty to his boss.
“We as a nation would be better served if elected officials like you concentrated your efforts to combat the true crises facing our country as opposed to going down rabbit holes like this hearing,” Mr. Lewandowski said.
Democrats’ questioning of Mr. Lewandowski was never going to be amicable. But it took no more than a minute of questioning for the hearing to begin to breakdown entirely.
Almost immediately, Mr. Lewandowski made clear he intended to do whatever he could to slow down the proceedings, including demanding that Democrats read him the section of the Mueller report about which they were questioning him.
When Representative Jerrold Nadler of New York, the committee’s chairman, asked Mr. Lewandowski if it was correct, as stated in the Mueller report, that he had met alone with Mr. Trump in the Oval Office in the summer of 2017, Mr. Lewandowski balked.
“Could you repeat the exact language of the report, sir?” he said. “Congressman, I would like you to refresh my memory of the report so I could read along,” he said, noting that he had not brought along a copy of the more than 400-page document.
An exasperated Mr. Nadler had staff give Mr. Lewandowski a print copy of the report.
“Mr. Chairman, where on page 90 is it?” Mr. Lewandowski said.
“Do you not have an independent recollection?” Mr. Nadler shot back.
Eventually, Mr. Lewandowski confirmed that he had been in the Oval Office, but Mr. Nadler’s time ran out without any meaningful fact-finding. Republicans soon picked up where the witness left off, berating the Democrats for what they said was an unfair process.
Early on, Representative Doug Collins, Republican of Georgia, forced two votes on the committee’s rules and whether to adjourn. Democrats defeated both, but only after a long interlude.
As Mr. Trump traveled from New Mexico to California on Tuesday afternoon, he had the televisions aboard Air Force One tuned into the hearing, according to people familiar with what was taking place.
The president and the staff traveling with him loved Mr. Lewandowski’s combativeness.
And within moments of Mr. Lewandowski’s first refusal to answer Mr. Nadler’s questions about his conversations with the president, Mr. Trump tweeted his appreciation for “such a beautiful opening statement.”
Mr. Lewandowski pops up frequently in Mr. Mueller’s more than 400-page report, including in its discussion of Trump campaign contacts with Russians. But the Judiciary Committee’s primary area of interest centers on Mr. Lewandowski’s interactions with Mr. Trump in the summer of 2017, when the president was trying through various channels to influence the work of the special counsel, then newly appointed.Mr. Lewandowski pops up frequently in Mr. Mueller’s more than 400-page report, including in its discussion of Trump campaign contacts with Russians. But the Judiciary Committee’s primary area of interest centers on Mr. Lewandowski’s interactions with Mr. Trump in the summer of 2017, when the president was trying through various channels to influence the work of the special counsel, then newly appointed.
As Mr. Mueller recounts in Volume II of his report, on possible obstruction of justice by Mr. Trump, the president met with Mr. Lewandowski in the Oval Office in June 2017 only two days after he directed Donald F. McGahn II, the White House counsel at the time, to fire the special counsel. This time, Mr. Trump criticized Attorney General Jeff Sessions for recusing himself from overseeing the Russia investigation and asked Mr. Lewandowski to deliver the attorney general a message that he dictated on the spot.As Mr. Mueller recounts in Volume II of his report, on possible obstruction of justice by Mr. Trump, the president met with Mr. Lewandowski in the Oval Office in June 2017 only two days after he directed Donald F. McGahn II, the White House counsel at the time, to fire the special counsel. This time, Mr. Trump criticized Attorney General Jeff Sessions for recusing himself from overseeing the Russia investigation and asked Mr. Lewandowski to deliver the attorney general a message that he dictated on the spot.
It said that Mr. Sessions should give a speech announcing that Mr. Trump had been treated unfairly and that he would limit the scope of the special counsel investigation. According to notes Mr. Lewandowski shared with Mr. Mueller’s team, the dictation continued:It said that Mr. Sessions should give a speech announcing that Mr. Trump had been treated unfairly and that he would limit the scope of the special counsel investigation. According to notes Mr. Lewandowski shared with Mr. Mueller’s team, the dictation continued:
Now a group of people want to subvert the Constitution of the United States. I am going to meet with the special prosecutor to explain this is very unfair and let the special prosecutor move forward with investigating election meddling for future elections so that nothing can happen in future elections.Now a group of people want to subvert the Constitution of the United States. I am going to meet with the special prosecutor to explain this is very unfair and let the special prosecutor move forward with investigating election meddling for future elections so that nothing can happen in future elections.
Mr. Lewandowski said he would deliver the message, but the request languished. Mr. Trump followed up during another Oval Office meeting in July, and Mr. Lewandowski told the special counsel that the president told him if Mr. Sessions would not meet with him, he should tell the attorney general he was fired.Mr. Lewandowski said he would deliver the message, but the request languished. Mr. Trump followed up during another Oval Office meeting in July, and Mr. Lewandowski told the special counsel that the president told him if Mr. Sessions would not meet with him, he should tell the attorney general he was fired.
Instead of delivering the message, Mr. Lewandowski tried to enlist the help of Rick A. Dearborn, a former Sessions aide who worked in the White House. Ultimately, neither man communicated the message to the attorney general, but Mr. Trump would continue to publicly criticize Mr. Sessions and privately seek his removal.Instead of delivering the message, Mr. Lewandowski tried to enlist the help of Rick A. Dearborn, a former Sessions aide who worked in the White House. Ultimately, neither man communicated the message to the attorney general, but Mr. Trump would continue to publicly criticize Mr. Sessions and privately seek his removal.
The Democrats’ investigation has been plodding so far, in large part because of the White House’s repeated intervention to block the appearances of key witnesses. They hope Mr. Lewandowski can help change that.
His appearance will be the first time the Judiciary Committee will hear publicly from a fact witness to the events that Mr. Mueller chronicles. And though the White House has also put limitations on his testimony — he is permitted to speak only about his work for the Trump campaign and material included in the public version of Mr. Mueller’s report, limiting any new fact-finding — Democrats still feel there is ample ground for them to cover.
To that end, Representative Jerrold Nadler of New York, the committee’s chairman, and other Democrats will be laboring to try to bring portions of Mr. Mueller’s dense written report to life for rolling television cameras.
Because he is testifying under oath, Mr. Lewandowski may have little choice but to publicly confirm again what he privately told Mr. Mueller. But that doesn’t mean he can’t turn himself into a firecracker of a witness, loudly distracting from presidential obstruction and showering Democrats in sparks and smoke.
And given that he has been considering a run for the Senate from New Hampshire for the last several weeks, Mr. Lewandowski and his allies see the hearing as an opportunity to promote his allegiance to Mr. Trump in a way that could benefit him politically.
In a Twitter post early Tuesday, Mr. Lewandowski offered a sample of what was to come.
Mr. Lewandowski has talked to allies about recapturing the outsider energy that Mr. Trump tapped into during the Republican primary in New Hampshire in February 2016. The hearing gives him a powerful platform to attack Democrats as bent on destroying the president, and to portray himself as a fierce defender of his former boss. It will be a chance for Mr. Lewandowski to show the public how Trumpian he can be.
That could boost him in a primary field that already has other Senate candidates in New Hampshire. If he does declare his candidacy, it would likely be in the coming weeks.
Mr. Lewandowski displayed his brawling approach in an interview last month with Fox News Radio, when he called Democrats on the committee “such phonies,” accused Mr. Nadler of being captive to “the far left wing” and said the whole inquiry could be attributed to Democrats’ refusal to accept a simple fact: “Donald Trump destroyed Hillary Clinton by a massive electoral margin.”
“I’m happy to come, right, because I want to explain that there was no collusion, that there was no obstruction,” Mr. Lewandowski said. “I am an open book. I want to go and remind the American people that these guys are on a witch hunt.”
The witness table at Tuesday’s hearing was supposed to be a good deal more crowded. Democrats had issued subpoenas for Mr. Dearborn and Rob Porter, the former White House staff secretary, to appear with Mr. Lewandowski.The witness table at Tuesday’s hearing was supposed to be a good deal more crowded. Democrats had issued subpoenas for Mr. Dearborn and Rob Porter, the former White House staff secretary, to appear with Mr. Lewandowski.
But on Monday, the White House counsel, Pat A. Cipollone, told the committee that Mr. Trump had directed both men not to show up because they were “absolutely immune” from congressional subpoenas as former senior presidential advisers. But on Monday, the White House counsel, Pat A. Cipollone, told the committee that Mr. Trump had directed both men not to show up because they were “absolutely immune” from congressional subpoenas as former senior presidential advisers. Mr. Nadler called the White House’s position “a shocking and dangerous assertion of executive privilege and absolute immunity.”
If that claim sounds familiar, it is. The White House has asserted that same immunity claim over other potential witnesses, most notably Mr. McGahn, the former White House counsel who is omnipresent in Mr. Mueller’s report.
The House filed a lawsuit in federal court last month challenging the claim in the case of Mr. McGahn. And a ruling in that case could affect whether Mr. Dearborn and Mr. Porter ultimately have to testify. In the meantime, late Monday, Mr. Nadler called the White House’s position “a shocking and dangerous assertion of executive privilege and absolute immunity.”
Maggie Haberman contributed reporting.