WASHINGTON The push by some Democrats to impeach President Donald Trump has been marked by false starts, semantic debates and legal roadblocks. Not surprisingly, perhaps, the first House Judiciary Committee hearing in the hotly contested process featured much of the same Tuesday.
The only witness, Trumps first campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, stonewalled. Democrats insulted him and he insulted them back. Republicans unsuccessfully tried to end the hearing early, calling it a sham. The back-and-forth was cantankerous, colorful and mostly unproductive.
Despite more than five hours of questioning, Democrats uncovered little they didnt already know from special counsel Robert S. Mueller IIIs final report in April.
It was a rocky start to hearings that Democrats say will help them determine whether to present articles of impeachment against Trump over allegations that he obstructed justice by trying to interfere with the Russia investigation, an especially fraught process as the 2020 presidential race gets underway.
Lewandowski confirmed that Trump asked him to tell Jeff Sessions, then the U.S. attorney general, to limit the investigation to meddling in future elections rather than examine what happened during the 2016 campaign.
But Lewandowski insisted that the president did not ask him to do anything wrong, and he routinely refused to elaborate on anything that wasnt already included in the Mueller report, which he said he believed was accurate.
The White House has directed me not to disclose the substance of any discussions with the president or his advisors to protect executive branch confidentiality, he said.
Trump was clearly pleased, tweeting from Air Force One on his flight to California that his former campaign manager had delivered such a beautiful opening statement.
Democrats were apoplectic, sometimes shouting at Lewandowski. Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tenn., called him some kind of a Forrest Gump when it comes to corruption. Rep. Hank Johnson, D-Ga., said he was difficult to pin down, like a fish being cleaned with a spoon.
Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., asked Lewandowski whether he was the hit man, the bag man, the lookout, or all of the above?
Lewandowski brushed off the question. I think Im the good looking man, actually, he replied.
Under questioning by the Democrats lawyer, Lewandowski admitted to misleading reporters about his conversations with Trump, saying, I have no obligation to be honest with the media because they are just as dishonest as everybody else.
He also refused to say whether he demanded immunity before answering questions from the special counsels office.
Sometimes Lewandowski stalled for time, flipping through the lengthy Mueller report looking for paragraphs cited by lawmakers. When directed to answer a question from Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, Lewandowski complained that it was just a rant.
He also referred to Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., as President Swalwell, a jab at the California congressmans abandoned White House bid.
