EXCLUSIVE: Lewandowski on Mueller Probe: “I Have Not Been Subpoenaed”
PLUS: Lewandowski: “I Don’t Believe It’s General Kelly’s Job to Manage the President. His Job is To Manage the Staff”
PLUS: Sen. Warner (D-Va.): “I Don’t Think Facebook Has Been Fully Forthcoming,” “Mr. Zuckerberg Needs to Come and Testify”
MARCH 25, 2018 – Former campaign manager for President Donald Trump Corey Lewandowski addressed Cambridge Analytica’s role in the campaign in an exclusive interview this morning on “Meet the Press with Chuck Todd”: “I never approved Cambridge Analytica’s contract. … They did not come to the campaign until after I left,” telling Todd he “knew that Steve [Bannon] had a role in the organization. I didn’t know what his ultimate role was.”
“I have not been subpoenaed,” Lewandowski said of the Mueller probe. “I can say that during my tenure, Chuck, which is all I can speak to, I saw no Russians.”
Addressing NBC News’ exclusive reporting that Trump has considered firing his chief of staff this month and not naming a successor, Lewandowski shared: “I don’t believe it’s General Kelly’s job to manage the president. His job is to manage the staff. And that’s what he has been doing.” Watch the full interview.
When asked if he knew of Bannon’s role with Cambridge Analytica, Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), vice chair of Senate Intelligence Committee, shared he “was aware” Cambridge Analytica had connections of “a colorful reputation.”
The Virginia senator continued: “I don’t think Facebook has been fully forthcoming. I called out Facebook back in December of ’16. In the spring of ’17, I questioned micro-targeting and the use of this really sketchy firm Cambridge Analytica.” He called on CEO Mark Zuckerberg “to come and testify.” Watch the full interview.
Todd traveled to Madison, Wis. this week to speak with “Reach Out Wisconsin,” a group comprised of voters across party lines, about gun reforms ahead of yesterday’s “March for Our Lives.” Watch the full discussion.
PBS’ Robert Costa, MSNBC’s Hugh Hewitt, NBC News’ Kasie Hunt and Democratic strategist Heather McGhee joined this morning’s roundtable for additional insight and analysis on the week in politics, including the president’s hire of John Bolton as his new national security adviser, with Costa noting, “It’s not so much an ideological case they’re making, it’s a personality mesh with the president.”
Read the full transcript of this morning’s “Meet the Press” on MeetThePress.com.
For more from moderator Chuck Todd throughout the week, sign up for the “First Read” newsletter, and subscribe to “1947: The Meet The Press Podcast” for on-demand interviews.
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NBC NEWS’ “MEET THE PRESS WITH CHUCK TODD”
“Meet the Press with Chuck Todd” is where newsmakers come to make news — setting the political agenda and spotlighting the impact Washington decision-making has on Americans across the country. It is the #1 most-watched Sunday public affairs show across the board for the 2016-2017 season, reaching more than three million viewers every Sunday and millions more through social, digital and on-demand platforms. “Meet the Press” brings its authority and influencer interviews to MSNBC with “MTP Daily” weekdays at 5 p.m. ET and to the “1947: The Meet the Press Podcast”. It’s the longest-running show in television history, having celebrated its 70th anniversary in 2017 with the launch of its first-ever film festival in collaboration with the American Film Institute this November. Chuck Todd is the political director of NBC News and the moderator of “Meet the Press“; John Reiss is the executive producer.
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