In a written explanation for not pursuing the charges, the State Attorney’s Office said there was a “reasonable hypothesis of innocence”, meaning the state did not feel it would be able prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt. “We agree that probable cause exists for the Jupiter Police Department to charge Mr. Lewandwoski in this case”, Aronberg said.
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Police later released a video of the incident which appears to show Lewandowski pulling Fields back from Trump.
Getty Images/Joe RaedleCorey Lewandowski, campaign manager for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.
He has also suggested that Fields changed her story and is an “aggressive person” searching for publicity. “The matter is now concluded”, the campaign said. Trump “recoiled”, and Lewandowski, who was just behind them, pulled her away.
“In a case like this we do encourage an apology”.
Politico reported earlier this month that the Trump campaign was minimizing Lewandowski’s role in light of the controversy, and other complaints from staff about his behavior, a charge that the campaign has denied.
But the decision was a disappointment to Fields, Aronberg said, noting that his office had talked with her on Thursday.
Trump’s campaign swiftly issued a statement after the state attorney’s decision. But on Thursday, Palm Beach County prosecutors said that while Lewandowski had grabbed Fields – contradicting the aide’s denials – the evidence was not strong enough to support a criminal prosecution.
The prosecutor said attorneys for Lewandowski recently showed him a “draft of an apology” to send Fields though “it’s up to them to reach out to Ms. Fields and send it to her”. “It’s our belief that any contact that occurred was incidental and not intentional”, Aronberg said.
“Anyone encouraging Michelle Fields to bring a civil lawsuit is not doing her a favor”, Van Susteren wrote in a post on her website. In between those two statements, Lewandowski attacked Fields on Twitter, accusing her of being an attention-seeker in some of her past reporting and insisting “you are totally delusional”.
Dropping charges against Lewandowski is not unusual in Palm Beach County. “And then to demand an apology from someone who had no idea what she was talking about to begin with, I think, sets another bad precedent”. Fields also said she faced death threats and was forced to leave her home fearing for her own safety.
The announcement comes days before the NY state primary, which will be crucial to Mr Trump’s campaign for the Republican presidential nomination.
“That case was going absolutely nowhere”, Tendler said, calling it an easy decision despite all of the political undertones. The fact that I have a relationship with several of the people who are running for president has no bearing upon our decision in this case.
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But prosecutors said there’s not enough evidence for a conviction on the charge, misdemeanor simple battery.
