The Slatest

C-SPAN Video Shows Trump Campaign Manager Reaching Toward Reporter’s Arm

From C-SPAN’s video.

Screenshot/C-SPAN

Friday morning news broke that conservative reporter Michelle Fields had filed assault charges against Donald Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski. You can read a detailed explanation of the situation here, but what it boils down to is this:

  • Fields says someone grabbed and yanked her from behind while she was questioning Trump after a Tuesday night press conference in Jupiter, Florida, leaving bruises on her arm.
  • Washington Post reporter Ben Terris was standing next to Fields and told her the person who grabbed her was Lewandowski. 
  • Lewandowski was inarguably near Fields and Terris when the incident took place but has publicly denied that he touched Fields.
  • There’s been some suggestion that the man who grabbed Fields was actually a nearby security official who resembles Lewandowski.

Video posted by C-SPAN, however, clearly shows Lewandowski (the man with the blue collar) moving his arm toward Fields (who’s in the tan sweater) while Terris (in plaid) follows closely. The other security guard near Fields does not appear to move toward Fields.

A GIF of the four crucial seconds in question:

Fields and Lewandowski, highlighted:

Trump’s campaign released a statement earlier Friday calling Fields’ accusation “entirely false.”