Donald Trump’s former campaign manager and outspoken Republican operative, Corey Lewandowski, is appearing before Congress as part of the House Judiciary Committee’s first official hearing in a Democratic-led impeachment investigation following Steve Cohen’s corruption accusation.
The 45-year-old political commentator currently mulling a bid for Senate in his home state of New Hampshire, is unlikely to provide Democrats with much new information as they decide whether to draft articles of impeachment against the president.
However, two other witnesses who were subpoenaed alongside Mr Lewandowski, former White House aides, Rick Dearborn and Rob Porter were not expected to show up at all after the White House ordered them to decline the request.
In his opening statements, Mr Lewandowski claimed the country “spent over three years and $40m (£32m) taxpayer dollars on these investigations.”
“It is now clear the investigation was populated by many Trump haters,” he added, also describing Trump’s campaign as “one of the greatest political revolutions” in American history, calling it “a historical and unprecedented political juggernaut.”
Prior to the Tuesday hearing, Mr Lewandowski tweeted: “Excited about the opportunity to remind the American people today there was no collusion no obstruction.”
The preceding tweet and opening remarks echoed Mr Trump’s analysis of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report on Russian interference in the 2016 election. The special counsel found that there was not enough evidence to establish a conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Russia, and he also found that Mr Trump could not be exonerated on obstruction of justice.
Attorney General William Barr later made his own decision on obstruction, saying there was insufficient evidence.
