During testimony before the House Judiciary Committee, former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski refused to answer a question about whether as president, Donald Trump offered him a pardon in exchange for refusing to cooperate with the Russia collusion probe.
Lewandowski cited executive privilege when he was asked about his conversations with the president and whether anyone from the administration had pressured him not to answer questions, The Hill reported.
Lewandowski frustrates Democrats
“Did the president ever try to discourage you from speaking with the special counsel, Mr. Lewandowski?” Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon (D-PA) asked.
“I can’t speak to any private conversation I may or may not have had with the president other than to say I’ve always been told to tell the truth,” Lewandowski responded.
Later, Scanlon asked, “Has the president ever offered you a pardon?”
“Again, the White House has directed I not disclose the substance of any conversation I’ve had with the president or his advisers,” he answered.
Nadler unhappy
Democrats were sharply critical of a White House letter that restricted Lewandowski from answering questions about conversations with the president, noting that Lewandowski had never had an official position in Trump’s administration.
“Mr. Lewandowski’s conversations with the President and with senior advisers to the President are protected from disclosure by long-settled principles protecting Executive Branch confidentiality interests and, as a result, the White House has directed Mr. Lewandowski not to provide information about such communications beyond the information provided in the portions of the Report that have already been disclosed to the Committee,” White House counsel Pat Cipollone wrote.
Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) even said he would consider the letter a breach of the separation of powers and that it could figure into the impeachment investigation against the president.
“The President would have us believe that he can willfully engage in criminal activity and prevent witnesses from testifying before Congress — even if they did not actually work for him or his administration,” Nadler said in a statement on Monday night. “If he were to prevail in this cover-up while the Judiciary Committee is considering whether to recommend articles of impeachment, he would upend the separation of powers as envisioned by our founders.”
Criminal activity?
Nadler has yet to find any criminal activity on the part of Trump, but that hasn’t stopped him from trying to impeach him. A deeper investigation into whether Trump can be impeached was launched this week, with Democrats hoping their digging will produce the information they need.
For now, Democrats are more than 40 votes short of passing articles of impeachment against Trump. Even House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has said it wouldn’t be a good idea to go forward because public opinion is against it.
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