(Forbes}
Topline: In what Democrats say is the first hearing in their impeachment investigation, former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski frustrated House Democrats by refusing to answer questions beyond what was written in the Mueller report, leading to chaotic and testy exchanges—with little substance—as Lewandowski remained fiercely loyal to Trump, who applauded his testimony on Twitter.
Context: Democrats looked to question Lewandowski about an episode described in the Mueller report in which Trump directed Lewandowski to ask then-attorney general Jeff Sessions to limit the scope of the special counsel’s investigation.
Lewandowski blasted the Mueller report in his opening statement, calling the investigation “populated by many Trump haters who had their own agenda — to try and take down a duly elected president of the United States.”
Rep. David Cicilline threatened to put Lewandowski in contempt after he spent most of the hearing stonewalling questions from House Democrats with small procedural objections. Frustrated lawmakers called the moves an attempt to obstruct their investigation
.At one point Lewandowski refused to answer whether he even met with Trump unless he was given a copy of the Mueller report with the exact page number and paragraph where the meeting was described, which caused a heated exchange between Rep. Jerry Nadler and Republican Doug Collins about hearing procedure. Read more
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