Corey Lewandowski, Donald Trump's former campaign manager, testified in front of the House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday in what is being called the first *official* impeachment hearing. Lewandowski was defensive and angry, clearly prepared for a fight with the Democrats. But, his stonewalling came to an abrupt halt when he had to face Barry Berke, the House Democrats' General Counsel for a solid 30 minutes of questioning.
One of the most insane admissions Lewandowski made was that he lies to the media. Unrepentant, he repeated it numerous times. His justification? He isn't under oath and the media is "dishonest".
Here is a bit of the exchange:
LEWANDOWSKI: Is that accurate? Is that the date of the interview?
BERKE: Yes.
LEWANDOWSKI: If that's what the report says, I will take it to be accurate.
BERKE: You have made statements denying giving answers to the Special Counsel when you actually had. You were untrue about that, weren't you sir?
LEWANDOWSKI: Are you talking about the media or a jurisdiction where I have been sworn to testify? I'm talking about my public statements day... I'm sorry, no one in Congress has ever lied to the public before
BERKE: Is that an admission that you did lie?
LEWANDOWSKI: Absolutely not.
BERKE: So you deny that you ever lied in public statements --
LEWANDOWSKI: What I am saying is, when under oath, I've always told the truth, whether it is before Special Counsel, whether it is before the House Intelligence Committee on two separate occasions or before the Senate Intelligence Committee. Every time I raised my right hand of God, I've sworn and told the truth.
BERKE: That's not my question to you. My question is, on national television did you lie about your relationship with the Special Counsel and whether they sought your interview?
LEWANDOWSKI: I don't know.
BERKE: And did you lie because you are afraid the world would find out you could be exposed to criminal liability and would only address certain issues with a grant of immunity protecting your words from being used against you in a criminal prosecution?
LEWANDOWSKI: I will go back to what Mister Mueller stated. He will not answer the questions. I won't let you use me as a backdoor into his methods. If you want to question director Mueller, you have the opportunity to do so, but clearly you didn't. So take them back here, bring them before the committee and ask those questions. Those questions are not for me.
BERKE: Let me ask you this, prior to the Mueller Report being redacted, did you ever misrepresent what you did on behalf of the President?
LEWANDOWSKI: I can't think of in incidents where that may have occurred.
BERKE: Let me show you an interview you did on May 14, 2019. Excuse me, from February 22, 2008 team. Let me show it to you. Excuse me, May 14, 2019.
(CLIP)
LEWANDOWSKI: I don't remember the President ever asking me to get involved with Jeff Sessions or the Department of Justice in any way, shape, or form, ever.
(END CLIP)
BERKE: Did you hear that, sir? That was you saying on MSNBC that you don't ever remember the President asking you and to get involved with Jeff Sessions or the Department of Justice in any way, shape or form. That wasn't true, was it sir?
LEWANDOWSKI: I heard that.
BERKE: And that wasn't true, was it sir?
LEWANDOWSKI: I have no obligation to be honest to the media because they are as dishonest as anybody else.
BERKE: So you are admitting, sir, that you weren't being truthful, correct?
LEWANDOWSKI: My interview? You can interpret it anyway you like.
BERKE: Would you like me to play it again?
LEWANDOWSKI: You're welcome to, please.
(CLIP)
I don't ever recall the President asking me to get involved with Jeff Sessions or the Department of Justice in any way, shape or form ever.
(END CLIP)
BERKE: And it is true in May 2019 you absolutely remembered when the President asked you to deliver a message to the Attorney General for a speech intended to give for the Special Counsel investigation, is not correct?
LEWANDOWSKI: I would have to think about it.
BERKE: Are you saying, sir, you may have forgotten it before you are interviewed, just before the report was publicly released?
LEWANDOWSKI: I'm saying my memory was much fresher when I give the testimony --
BERKE: So when you said you did not remember the President ever asking you to get involved with Jeff Sessions or the Department of Justice, you were saying, you were being truthful? Sir, I don't believe there is any reason to consult with your counsel. The question is, are you a truth-teller in that interview?
LEWANDOWSKI: I'm a truth teller anytime I stand before Congress or a Committee of jurisdiction and raise my hand and swear under oath.
Nothing says "trustworthy" like admitting on national TV that you are a proud and unrepentant liar #MAGA.
But more to the point, he just undermined everything he said under oath. False in one, false in all. His testimony today gave Democrats their first article of impeachment. He must be so proud.
