Lewandowski: There’s no reason for me to be held in contempt

Former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski dismissed speculation that he could be held in contempt after a rollercoaster hearing Tuesday in front of the House Judiciary Committee in which he repeatedly exerted executive privilege regarding conversations with the president. 

“I answered every question I had the obligation to answer,” Lewandowski said Wednesday on CNN.

{mosads}“I don’t have any reason to be held in contempt, and I’ve told the members of Congress I’m happy to come back and answer more questions if they need me to after the five- or six-hour charade I went through yesterday.” 

“I don’t have any reason to be held in contempt,” says former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski about repeatedly citing executive privilege at the House Judiciary committee hearing yesterday. “I’m happy to come back… after the five or six-hour charade I went through” pic.twitter.com/qkVudXLfuA

— New Day (@NewDay) September 18, 2019

Lewandowski repeatedly clashed with Democrats on Tuesday in a hearing that appeared to contain more theatrics than investigative work, with committee members expressing frustration at his exerting of executive privilege. 

“Lewandowski, you are like a fish being cleaned with a spoon — very hard to get a clean answer from you,” Rep. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.) said at one point.

The former Trump campaign manager maintained Wednesday that he was happy to answer questions regarding his work on President Trump’s 2016 bid and in the administration but said he was simply following the White House’s request to keep private his conversations with the president himself. 

“That’s not my privilege. I don’t have the privilege, I’m not the chief executive officer of the United States, and so it is his privilege and the White House’s privilege and they’ve notified the committee that they are preserving that right under Article II of the Constitution, and they asked me to respect the directive of the White House, and so I’ve done that,” Lewandowski said. 

Lewandowski appeared as part of the House Judiciary Committee’s investigation into possible obstruction of justice by Trump.

Democrats centered their questioning around the president’s request in 2017 that Lewandowski deliver a letter to then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions asking that he set new limits on former special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation. Lewandowski responded that a vacation with his family prevented him from giving Sessions the document.