When CNN hired Corey Lewandowski, the former Donald Trump campaign manager who:
- is reportedly bound by a legal agreement not to say anything negative about Trump
- was recently arrested on battery charges
- reportedly addresses female coworkers using words like “bitch” and “cunt”
- is allegedly known for making sexually inappropriate comments to women he knows professionally
… it seemed like a bad idea for, uh, all those reasons. (Note: Prosecutors ultimately chose not to pursue the battery charges.) But one thing CNN had going for it was that Lewandowski, having been fired by the Trump campaign, was at least ostensibly now an independent voice, right? Like, at least he didn’t have an ongoing financial interest in the campaign’s success?
Nope! As Media Matters* notes:
Former Donald Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski is still being paid by the presumptive GOP presidential nominee’s campaign while simultaneously drawing a salary as a CNN contributor to discuss the candidate on-air, according to the network.
CNN anchor Chris Cuomo and host Don Lemon noted that Lewandowski is “still receiving severance from the Trump campaign” while introducing him in July 11 and July 12 segments.
Good stuff. Good job, good hire, CNN.
*Correction, July 14: This post originally misidentified Media Matters as Mediaite.
