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Key Moments From Corey Lewandowski’s Testimony Before Congress

Mr. Lewandowski, President Trump’s former campaign manager, testified before lawmakers conducting an impeachment inquiry.

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Lewandowski Grilled by Democrats in Impeachment Inquiry

President Trump’s former campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, answered questions before the House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday.

“Could you read the exact language of the report, sir? I don’t have it available to me.” “I don’t think I need to do that, and I have limited time.” “Yes or no? Read the screen.” “You’re welcome to read it, congresswoman.” “You’re welcome to be stalling.” “Can you read what you wrote down?” “I’m happy to have you read it, congressman.” “Are you ashamed of the words that you wrote down?” “President Swalwell, I’m very happy of what I’ve written. But you’re welcome to read it if you’d like.” “I can’t discuss a private conversation.” “I can’t speak to private conversations.” “I couldn’t disclose a private conversation.” “The White House has directed not to disclose the substance of any discussions with the president or his advisers to protect the executive branch confidentiality.” “We’ve projected on the screen the message that the president dictated to you that he wanted you to deliver to the attorney general. It says, ‘I know that I recused myself from certain things having to do with specific areas. But our POTUS is being treated very unfairly ... He shouldn’t have a special prosecutor, counsel because he hasn’t done anything wrong.’ That’s what he wanted you to deliver to Attorney General Jeff Sessions, correct?” “I believe that’s an accurate representation.” “Let me show you an interview that you did.” “I don’t ever remember the president ever asking me to get involved with Jeff Sessions or the Department of Justice in any way, shape or form, ever.” “And that was not true, was it?” “I have no obligation to be honest with the media, because they’re just as dishonest as anybody else.” “Didn’t you think it was a little strange that the president would sit down with you one on one and ask you to do something that you knew was against the law? Did that strike you as strange?” “I disagree with the premise of your question, congressman.” “You weren’t a policeman?” “I didn’t, I didn’t think the president asked me to do anything illegal.”

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President Trump’s former campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, answered questions before the House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday.CreditCredit...Doug Mills/The New York Times

Mr. Lewandowski, under sharp questioning by Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee, confirmed that Mr. Trump had once asked him to help pressure Attorney General Jeff Sessions to curtail the scope of the Russia investigation, but said he did not believe he had been asked to do anything illegal.

After initially stonewalling Democrats’ questions, Mr. Lewandowski appeared to abruptly change strategies, confirming the details of a key episode from the Mueller investigation — and even providing new information that wasn’t in the special counsel’s report. Under questioning by Representative Hank Johnson, Democrat of Georgia, Mr. Lewandowski said he never relayed the message to Mr. Sessions because he went on a beach vacation with his children.

The episode, which occurred in June 2017, is one of several instances of possible obstruction of justice documented by the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III.

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Lewandowski Denies Trump Asked Him to Do ‘Anything Illegal’

Corey Lewandowski, President Trump’s former campaign manager, said he didn’t think a request from Mr. Trump asking him to speak with Attorney General Jeff Sessions about limiting the special counsel’s investigation was against the law.

“Didn’t you think was a little strange that the president would sit down with you one on one and ask you to do something that you knew was against the law? Did that strike you as strange?” “I disagree with the premise of your question, Congressman.” “You weren’t a policeman?” “I didn’t — I didn’t think the president asked me, to do anything illegal.” “You didn’t think it would have been illegal for you to ask Mr. Sessions to drop the investigation and to just go on to future presidents — and omit everything with this president — and go ‘olly olly in free,’ we’re going to start with the next one about colluding with Russia. You didn’t think that was illegal to obstruct justice?” “Congressman, the president has asked me nothing illegal.”

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Corey Lewandowski, President Trump’s former campaign manager, said he didn’t think a request from Mr. Trump asking him to speak with Attorney General Jeff Sessions about limiting the special counsel’s investigation was against the law.CreditCredit...Erin Schaff/The New York Times

As Mr. Mueller recounts in Volume II of his report, Mr. Trump met with Mr. Lewandowski in the Oval Office 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 Mr. Sessions for recusing himself from overseeing the Russia investigation. He then dictated a message for Mr. Lewandowski to deliver to Mr. Sessions.

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.

“Didn’t you think it was a little strange the president would sit down with you one-on-one and ask you to do something that you knew was against the law?” asked Representative Steve Cohen, Democrat of Tennessee. “Did that strike you as strange?”

Mr. Lewandowski curtly disagreed: “I didn’t think the president asked me to do anything illegal.”

At the tail-end of the hearing, Barry H. Berke, a well-regarded white-collar defense attorney who has taken a leave from his New York law firm to consult for the committee, unleashed a rapid-fire cross-examination in which he quickly established that Mr. Lewandowski had lied in an interview earlier this year when he said he couldn’t recall any conversation he had with Mr. Trump about Mr. Sessions.

“That wasn’t true, was it, sir?” Mr. Berke asked.

Mr. Lewandowski struggled to answer, ultimately telling the lawyer, “You can interpret it any way you like.”

But when pressed, Mr. Lewandowski said: “I have no obligation to have a candid conversation with the media whatsoever, just like they have no obligation to cover me honestly, and they do it inaccurately all the time.”

“You are admitting that on national television you were lying there?” Mr. Berke asked.

“They have been inaccurate on many occasions,” Mr. Lewandowski replied, “and perhaps I was inaccurate that time.

It was only one of several moments in which Mr. Berke plainly got under the skin of Mr. Lewandowski, who mentioned repeatedly that he did not have a law degree from Harvard, as Mr. Berke does.

Republicans had tried mightily to prevent him from participating in the questioning. Hours into the hearing, a nasty argument broke out between Democrats and Republicans over whether Mr. Berke, who is an outside consultant to the Judiciary panel, should be allowed to question Mr. Lewandowski in the hour allotted to staff lawyers for each side.

Republicans balked, using parliamentary maneuvers to try to derail the move, but majority Democrats easily dispensed with their objections, and that of Mr. Lewandowski’s lawyer, who commandeered a microphone at the witness table to register his opposition.

The episode enraged Republicans, who called it a blatant violation of committee rules. Representative Doug Collins of Georgia, the panel’s ranking member, at one point stormed out of the hearing in protest. When he returned, he said his side would not have a staff lawyer question Mr. Lewandowski, and the session was adjourned.

As the manager of the Trump campaign in 2016, Mr. Lewandowski received numerous messages from campaign staff about attempts by Russians to make contact with the campaign.

At one point during the hearing, he was asked why he didn’t contact the F.B.I. about those overtures. Mr. Lewandowski conceded that someone should have done so, just not him. He suggested it should have been Sam Clovis, a top campaign official in charge of pulling together Mr. Trump’s first team of foreign policy advisers. Some of those advisers, including Carter Page and George Papadopoulos, were the recipients of the Russian advances.

“In hindsight,” Mr. Lewandowski said, “that’s something Mr. Clovis should probably have done.”

At the same time, Mr. Lewandowski and Republicans on the committee made misleading statements suggesting that the F.B.I. had deliberately refused to brief Mr. Trump and his aides about what it knew about Russia’s attempts to interfere in the 2016 election.

Mr. Lewandowski said it was “unfathomable to me that they didn’t contact a major political nominee for president of the United States and inform them of potential threats against election process in 2016.”

Representative Jim Jordan, Republican of Ohio, piled on, saying that the F.B.I. was “trying to trap the president.”

But their assertions misrepresented the facts. Mr. Lewandowski was fired as campaign chairman in June 2016, a month before Mr. Trump officially became the Republican presidential nominee. The F.B.I. gave a “defensive briefing” to Mr. Trump in August 2016, after Mr. Lewandowski had been fired.

A Justice Department letter in 2017 said the briefings were meant to raise “awareness of the indicators and warnings of foreign intelligence threats” so individuals were “better postured to defend themselves and their organizations from foreign intelligence collection.”

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Lewandowski Delivers Opening Remarks Before Testimony

Corey Lewandowski, President Trump’s former campaign manager, called his service to Mr. Trump a “privilege” during his opening statement before the House Judiciary Committee.

I had the privilege — and it was a privilege — of helping transform the Trump campaign from a dedicated but small makeshift organization to a historical and unprecedented political juggernaut. We as a nation would be better served if elected officials like yourself concentrated your efforts to combat the true crises facing our country, as opposed to going down rabbit holes like this hearing.

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Corey Lewandowski, President Trump’s former campaign manager, called his service to Mr. Trump a “privilege” during his opening statement before the House Judiciary Committee.CreditCredit...Doug Mills/The New York Times

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.”

Mr. Lewandowski’s remarks could have doubled as a campaign address from a carbon copy of the president himself. They were punctuated with references to the scourge of illegal immigration, knocks on Hillary Clinton, and brutal takedowns of Democrats.

[Read his full opening statement.]

Given that he has been considering a run for the Senate from New Hampshire for several weeks, Mr. Lewandowski and his allies saw the hearing as an opportunity to promote his allegiance to Mr. Trump in a way that could benefit him politically. Mr. Lewandowski made no secret that he was using the proceedings to further his own political ambitions. During a break that he requested, he tweeted out a link to a website for a new super PAC that was created today, “Stand With Corey.”

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‘Refresh My Memory’: Lewandowski and Nadler Have Sharp Exchange

When Representative Jerrold Nadler, the House Judiciary Committee chairman, asked Corey Lewandowski about an Oval Office meeting with President Trump, the president’s former campaign chairman stalled the proceedings.

“Could you read the exact language of the report, sir? I don’t have it available to me.” Rep. Nadler: “I don’t think I need to do that and I have limited time. Did you meet alone with the president on that date?” “Congressman, I’d like you to refresh my memory by providing a copy of the report so I can follow along.” Rep. Nadler: “Page — you don’t have a copy with you?” “I don’t have a copy of the report, Congressman.” Off-camera: “Mr. Chairman I request that the clock be stopped while this charade is sorted out.” “I’m sorry Congressman, what page was it?” Rep. Nadler: “The clock should have been stopped and should remain stopped — Page 90, Volume 2.” “O.K. and which paragraph, sir? Rep. Nadler: “I don’t have it in front of me.” “I’d like a reference sir, so I can follow along with what you’re asking.” Rep. Nadler: “Do you not have an independent recollection of whether you met with the president on that date?” “Congressman, I’m just trying to find in the Mueller report where it states that?” Rep. Nadler: “Well, you have it in front of you. I gave you the — the page number.” “Where on Page 90 is it, sir?” Off-camera: “Mr. Chairman, you’ve got to start the clock.” Rep. Nadler: “No, I don’t have to start the clock when he’s filibustering. Bottom of Page 90 —” Rep. Collins: Filibustering is a different issue. That’s across the hall in the Senate. This is actual questions being done now.” Off-camera: “Mr. Chairman, point of Parliamentary inquiry Mr. Chairman.”

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When Representative Jerrold Nadler, the House Judiciary Committee chairman, asked Corey Lewandowski about an Oval Office meeting with President Trump, the president’s former campaign chairman stalled the proceedings.CreditCredit...Doug Mills/The New York Times

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 break down 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.

Later, things got testier still as Representative Eric Swalwell tried repeatedly to get Mr. Lewandowski to read aloud the message Mr. Trump dictated to him in the Oval Office, and Mr. Lewandowski refused.

“Are you ashamed of the words you wrote down?” Mr. Swalwell, Democrat of California, asked.

Mr. Lewandowski sneeringly referred to the congressman, who recently ended his presidential campaign, as “President Swalwell,” and told him to read the passage himself.

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.”

The White House had intervened to make sure that Mr. Lewandowski would limit his testimony to what was in the Mueller report, and also to prevent two other officials who worked in the West Wing, Rick A. Dearborn and Rob Porter, from appearing alongside him.

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.”

Mark Mazzetti contributed reporting.

A correction was made on 
Sept. 18, 2019

An earlier version of a video caption with this article misstated the day when Corey Lewandowski testified before the House Judiciary Committee. He testified on Tuesday, not on Sunday.

How we handle corrections

Nicholas Fandos is congressional correspondent, based in Washington. He has covered Capitol Hill since 2017, chronicling two Supreme Court confirmation fights, two historic impeachments of Donald J. Trump, and countless bills in between. More about Nicholas Fandos

Maggie Haberman is a White House correspondent. She joined The Times in 2015 as a campaign correspondent and was part of a team that won a Pulitzer Prize in 2018 for reporting on President Trump’s advisers and their connections to Russia. More about Maggie Haberman

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