Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump paid his former campaign manager $20,000 in August, almost two months after Corey Lewandowski left the Trump campaign and joined CNN as a contributor, newly filed campaign-finance reports show. This seems to contradict the campaign’s previous assertion that the money it continued to pay Lewandowski – who was sacked back in June after he assaulted a reporter and ran afoul of Ivanka, among other things – was simply severance pay. Lewandowski also reportedly is still informally advising the campaign while commenting on it for CNN.
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Lewandowski had been receiving a severance package from the Trump campaign since he was sacked in June, but the $20,000 payment to his firm revealed in Trump’s FEC July and August filing for “strategy consulting” appeared to be in addition to the severance payments.
The June 23 hiring of Lewandowski rankled journalists inside and outside CNN given the former campaign manager’s seeming disdain for the press.
“Corey Lewandowski, who is no longer involved in the campaign, continues to receive monthly severance payments”.
CNN has said previously that Trump’s payments to Lewandowski and his consulting firm were “severance” for his employment by Trump. Lewandowski was already the center of controversy after grabbing a Breitbart reporter during a campaign event.
CNN CEO Jeff Zucker has stuck by the decision to hire and retain Lewandowski, saying in a recent company townhall that he brought balance to the channel’s commentators.
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Lewandowski was released from his role as campaign manager on June 20, then quickly joined CNN within days. Under criticism for that payment, CNN began introducing all of Lewandowski’s segments with the disclaimer about severance.
