Nadler update

Lewandowski immediately frustrated Nadler, the committee's chairman, during the Democrat's first question earlier in the day – when the witness, in an apparent effort to stall for time, repeatedly asked Nadler to point to the specific section in the Robert Mueller report related to his question. Lewandowski was following White House orders not to discuss confidential conversations with the president beyond what was already public in the former special counsel's report.


Asked by Nadler if he met alone with President Donald Trump in June 2017, Lewandowski said, “Could you read the exact language of the report? I don’t have it available to me.”

“I don’t think I need to do that,” Nadler shot back. “I have limited time.”

Asked the question again, Lewandowski told Nadler he needed him to “refresh” his memory of what was in the report. He demanded that Democrats provide him a copy of the report, sending Democratic staff scrambling to find one.

"He's filibustering," a frustrated Nadler said.

Amid the back-and-forth, the top Republican on the committee, Georgia Rep. Doug Collins, moved to adjourn the hearing, forcing a failed voice vote that caused further delay, before questioning resumed from other lawmakers.

Lewandowski later declined to play along with certain questions. New York Democratic Rep. Hakeem Jeffries asked Lewandowski if he was Trump’s “hitman, the bag man, the lookout, or all of the above?"

"I think I'm the good looking man, actually," Lewandowski replied.

Lewandowski is considering a run for the Senate in New Hampshire in 2020. In a reminder of the political backdrop, during a recess, the witness tweeted out a link to a website promoting his possible candidacy. And Democrats referenced his ambitions.

"You are not on the campaign trail yet," Jeffries said. "This is the House Judiciary Committee. Act like you know the difference."

There were fireworks from the beginning. Nadler opened by saying the hearing is part of efforts to “determine whether to recommend articles of impeachment with respect to President Trump.” He railed against the White House’s efforts to block the testimony of two other former Trump aides — Rick Dearborn and Rob Porter — who did not show up on orders from the administration.

“This is a cover-up, plain and simple,” Nadler said of the White House’s efforts to block testimony from Dearborn and Porter.

At another point, Texas Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee told Lewandowski, “You are obviously here to block any reasonable inquiry into the truth or not of this administration."

Lewandowski fired back that he was unable to give her a response because it wasn’t a question but a “rant.”

During his questioning, Georgia Rep. Hank Johnson said, “Mr. Lewandowski, you are like a fish being cleaned with a spoon — it’s very hard to get an answer out of you.”

Lewandowski appeared to mock California Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell’s unsuccessful bid for the White House earlier this year, calling him “President Swalwell” at one point during questioning.

In his opening statement, Lewandowski railed against the Trump investigations.

“It is now clear the investigation was populated by many Trump haters who had their own agenda – to try and take down a duly elected president of the United States,” he said. “As for actual collusion or conspiracy, there was none. What there has been, however, is harassment of this president from the day he won the election.”

The president was apparently watching, and tweeted: "Such a beautiful Opening Statement by Corey Lewandowski! Thank you Corey!"