Former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski battled with CNN’s Alisyn Camerota on Wednesday after he seemingly admitted a day earlier that he was under no obligation to be honest during press and media interviews.
Camerota pressed Lewandowski on comments he made to the House Judiciary Committee this week on her show Wednesday, questioning whether Americans should ever trust Lewandowski in public appearances.
{mosads}”Do you lie to the media? What is the answer? Yes or no?” Camerota pressed.
“I’ve answered your question. I’m as honest as I can be as often as I can be,” Lewandowski responded.
“Corey, that’s not good enough,” Camerota shot back. “That’s not good enough.”
Video of the full exchange was not immediately available, but Lewandowski’s interview with the network came just a day after he told the Judiciary panel that he was not under obligation to tell the truth when not under oath, and compared his statements in the press to members of Congress lying to the media.
“I have no obligation to be honest to the media,” Lewandowski said on Tuesday. “They’re just as dishonest as anybody else.”
“When under oath, I have always told the truth,” the former Trump aide added.
Lewandowski left CNN after being signed as a contributor in 2016 after it was revealed by the Federal Election Commission (FEC) that Trump’s team was still paying Lewandowski’s strategy firm, Green Monster Consulting, for “strategy consulting.”
Trump’s campaign gave Lewandowski’s company $40,000 in consulting fees in July and August of 2016. Trump’s campaign said in a statement at the time that the money was part of a severance package.
The network faced criticism from some in the media for agreeing to interview Lewandowski following his performance before the House committee, pointing out that Lewandowski’s own words had discredited him.
“Lewandowski says yesterday he has “no obligation” to be candid with the media — and gets booked today on CNN,” wrote Michael Calderone, HuffPost’s senior media reporter, who added in a second tweet that CNN “gave Lewandowski a platform to defend Trump while he was still paid by the campaign.”
“This is embarrassing,” added progressive blogger Judd Legum. “Lewandowski admitted yesterday that he repeatedly lies on TV and doesn’t think there is anything wrong with it and then was immediately booked by CNN.”