March 29, 2016

New Video Shows Trump Campaign Manager Grabbing a Reporter. Here Are All the Times the Trump Campaign Denied It.

It’s a long list.

Charlie Neibergall, File/AP

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Corey Lewandowski, Donald Trump’s campaign manager, was charged with misdemeanor battery on Tuesday for forcibly grabbing Breitbart News reporter Michelle Fields on March 8 in Jupiter, Florida. According to the Palm Beach Post, Lewandowski turned himself in to police in Jupiter on Tuesday morning, about two weeks after Fields filed a complaint with the police. The Jupiter Police Department released this video of the incident on Tuesday:

 

 

Despite the new evidence, and multiple earlier reports that Lewandowski had grabbed Fields, the Trump campaign is still proclaiming Lewandoswki’s innocence, declaring in a statement that he “is absolutely innocent of this charge” and “will enter a plea of not guilty and looks forward to his day in court.” It’s hardly the first denial from the Trump campaign. Here is a list of those denials.

On March 10, two days after the incident, Trump’s spokeswoman, Hope Hicks, released a statement calling Fields’ allegations “entirely false.” She denied that there were any witnesses (which there were) or any camera footage (which we now have). The statement also implied that Fields had a “pattern of exaggerating incidents” in order to make herself “part of the news story.”

Later that day, Lewandowski began to attack Fields himself.

Trump accused Fields of being a fabulist. After a Republican debate that evening, Trump responded to a question about the incident by suggesting Fields invented the incident. “Perhaps she made the story up,” Trump said. “I think that’s what happened.”

Lewandowski continued his Twitter barrage the next day.

After Lewandowski was charged on Tuesday, the campaign continued to defend him.

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This is how change happens.

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This investigative reporting takes time too. Months of research. Weeks of writing, editing, and fact checking—and putting together the photography, art, video, and audio that tell the stories in a new way, illuminating new perspectives and voices.

We can afford to take our time because we don’t report to oligarchs or corporations. We report to you, and for you.

And the stakes are high. Democracy is on the defense. We’ve been exposing corruption and scandal for five decades, and this is a pivotal moment in our country’s history. Will democracy prevail? We won’t wait for time to tell—independent journalism is essential for democracy, and we’ll keep doing our part to amplify the free press.

So, we’re asking: Will you join the fight? Mother Jones has been here for 50 years, and we need your support to fuel the future of investigative journalism. Mark our 50th anniversary with a gift of any amount.

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