Trump Campaign Manager Lewandowski Surrenders To Police In Battery Case
Donald Trump’s campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, surrendered himself to police this morning after being formally charged with battery for grabbing and wrenching the arm of reporter Michelle Fields, during a Trump campaign event. Lewandowski has stated that he is innocent of all charges, but will cooperate with police, as evidenced by his surrender to Florida police this morning. Donald Trump has stated this morning that he stands by Lewandowski, and claims his campaign manager is innocent of all charges.
As the Inquisitr reported earlier, Corey Lewandowski — Donald Trump’s campaign manager — allegedly grabbed reporter Michelle Fields’ arm and pulled her away from Trump after she approached to ask a question. Fields claims she was pulled hard enough to knock her off balance, and has posted photos of the bruise left by Lewandowski’s alleged battery to social media. Lewandowski and Trump continue to deny any wrongdoing, Trump even went so far as to suggest that Fields “made it up for attention.”
“Lewandowski grabbed Fields’ left arm with his right hand, causing her to turn and step back,” reads the police report.
Politico and other outlets are reporting this morning that the Trump campaign manager has surrendered to police after a formal “notice to appear” was issued, along with a court date. Lewandowski surrendered himself to police after meeting with his lawyer, and a Trump spokesperson confirmed that Lewandowski was charged with misdemeanor battery and that he is complying with police.
“Mr. Lewandowski was issued a notice to appear and given a court date. He was not arrested. Mr. Lewandowski is absolutely innocent of this charge, he will enter a plea of not guilty and looks forward to his day in court,” said Trump campaign spokesperson Hope Hicks this morning.
The alleged battery was caught on video from numerous angles and appears to show Trump with his back turned to Lewandowski, who appears to grab Michelle Fields’ arm and pull her out of the way. Lewandowski claimed, however, that Fields was “delusional” and that no such contact occurred. Fields’ story was backed up by Washington Post reporter Ben Terris, who stated that he witnessed the alleged battery.
Trump’s campaign continues to deny any wrongdoing, and states that Lewandowski will be “cleared of all charges” after his day in court. However, a video released by Florida police shows a different angle of the alleged assault, and there are two details that are clear in the video: Trump’s back was turned, so he did not witness the alleged assault, and Lewandowski is clearly shown grabbing Michelle Fields’ arm and pulling her away. How hard he pulled, however, will likely be the detail on which the Lewandowski case is decided — was Lewandowski simply redirecting her away from the candidate, or was he — as Michelle Fields claims — brutally wrenching her arm back and away from Trump as she approached to ask a question.
The police report states that Michelle Fields’ arm “appeared to show a grabbing-type injury.”
Police release video showing incident between #Donald Trump's campaign manager Corey Lewandowski and Michelle Fieldshttps://t.co/3FmTT2i891
— Fox News (@FoxNews) March 29, 2016
The story, however, doesn’t end there. Corey Lewandowski’s lawyer, Kendall Coffey, a Miami attorney has also had his own brushes with the law — and not just in a courtroom. Kendall Coffey, who represents Lewandowski in the battery case, was previously accused of biting a stripper in 1996, during which time he was serving as a U.S. Attorney. Coffey, according to the Miami Herald, attempted to kiss a stripper, and bit her instead, which resulted in the then-Federal Prosecutor’s ejection from the “Lipstik Club.” Coffey allegedly paid the tab with a credit card, and later sent his father back to the club to buy the credit card slip in an attempt to hide Coffey’s involvement in the “stripper biting incident.”
[Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images]
