The state attorney's office in Palm Beach County, Florida, will not prosecute Donald Trump's campaign manager Corey Lewandowski for battery, according to sources familiar with the case.
A former reporter for Breitbart, Michelle Fields, sought charges against Lewandowski after an incident in March where she said Lewandowski pulled her away from Trump as she was trying to ask him a question. The news is a sigh of relief for both Lewandowski and the Trump campaign, which risked facing a major legal distraction during the heat of the competitive presidential campaign. The incident at Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate on March 8, the night of the Michigan presidential primary, led to a weeks-long dispute between the Trump campaign, some media outlets and Fields, as to what actually happened.
Politico first reported that Lewandowski would not be charged. Fields may still seek defamation charges against Lewandowski based on his efforts to dismiss her claims and cast doubt on her integrity, the sources said.
Earlier this week, the state attorney's office tried to broker a deal in which Lewandowski would agree to publicly apologize to Fields instead of facing prosecution, one source with knowledge of the situation said. While Fields agreed to the offer, it's not yet clear that Lewandowski did.
Fields added: "For those asking, office of prosecutor asked 2 weeks ago if I'd be ok with an apology from Corey. I said ya but haven't heard back about it."
The Trump campaign and the state's attorney's office declined to comment on Wednesday evening. Trump has stood by his aide, initially saying he thought the allegations were made up, but multiple videos of the encounter appeared to show Lewandowski pulling Fields' arm.
"I would have loved to have fired him," Trump told CNN's Anderson Cooper during a town hall event in March. "It would have been much easier than talking to you about this all night long ... I don't want to ruin (Lewandowski's) life."
Trump attributed Lewandowski's actions to security concerns.
"She had a pen in her hand, which Secret Service is not liking because they don't know what it is, whether it's a little bomb," he said. Trump also forcefully rejected calls from his rivals to suspend or fire Lewandowski, saying Wednesday on ABC's "Good Morning America," that "The other candidates, they said, 'Oh, I should fire him.' That's because they're weak, ineffective people. They want to be politically correct. I don't want to be politically correct. I want to be correct."
Fields, who was a reporter for Breitbart at the time, resigned from the conservative news outlet one week later, along with other staffers.
******* “We cannot continue to allow ourselves to be influenced and molded by the political class and by the media. That is going to destroy us," he said, remarking that it's "kind of sad" that the press is the only business protected by the Constitution "because they were supposed to be the allies of the people." Dr. Ben Carson
******* “We cannot continue to allow ourselves to be influenced and molded by the political class and by the media. That is going to destroy us," he said, remarking that it's "kind of sad" that the press is the only business protected by the Constitution "because they were supposed to be the allies of the people." Dr. Ben Carson
The entire incident served its purpose: distract from Trump's message and give the media fodder to make Trump and his staff look like bullies who push around poor benighted women.
Illegitimi non Carborundum
During times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act.
Quote: algernonpj wrote in post #3The entire incident served its purpose: distract from Trump's message and give the media fodder to make Trump and his staff look like bullies who push around poor benighted women.
and that "conservative" Cruz piled on!
******* “We cannot continue to allow ourselves to be influenced and molded by the political class and by the media. That is going to destroy us," he said, remarking that it's "kind of sad" that the press is the only business protected by the Constitution "because they were supposed to be the allies of the people." Dr. Ben Carson
And now Fields intends to drag it out, and give the media even greater fodder to impugn Trump, by threatening to file a defamation suit against him and Lewandowski for calling her a liar. The suit will go nowhere but will serve its purpose of keeping this incident in the news, and, as Algernonpj states, reinforce the idea of making "Trump and his staff look like bullies who push around poor benighted women."
Nastiest election I have ever witnessed.
I have to admit I find the 2016 election season disgusting and no one emerges unsullied on either side. I have no idea for whom I will vote, nor even if I will.
Quote: truthkeeper wrote in post #6If Fields insists on pursuing this there will be very interesting discovery, although probably not until after the election.
I understand she's made several similar claims in the past, all eventually dropped. This won't go well for her.
Even Mika almost called this for what it was this morning, but held back. She gets it.
Phew, for a minute I thought you were going to say something bad about Mika.
I have a sweet spot for her even though....
don't you think she looks like Robin Wright?
Sisters!
******* “We cannot continue to allow ourselves to be influenced and molded by the political class and by the media. That is going to destroy us," he said, remarking that it's "kind of sad" that the press is the only business protected by the Constitution "because they were supposed to be the allies of the people." Dr. Ben Carson
Quote: truthkeeper wrote in post #6If Fields insists on pursuing this there will be very interesting discovery, although probably not until after the election.
I understand she's made several similar claims in the past, all eventually dropped. This won't go well for her.
Even Mika almost called this for what it was this morning, but held back. She gets it.
Phew, for a minute I thought you were going to say something bad about Mika.
I have a sweet spot for her even though....
don't you think she looks like Robin Wright?
Sisters!
There was that photo of her on a table, Scarborough next to it. She has GEREAT legs! So I'm wich yew!