Breitbart published a news story on Friday casting doubt on its own reporter’s account of an alleged altercation between her and Donald Trump’s campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski.
The conservative-leaning news site now claims its own investigation reveals that the incident involving Michelle Fields “could not possibly have happened” as reported by Washington Post correspondent Ben Terris.
On Thursday, Terris published his own account of the incident, backing up Fields’ own account. In his article, Terris says in no uncertain terms that he “watched as a man with short-cropped hair and a suit grabbed her arm and yanked her out of the way. He was Corey Lewandowski, Trump’s 41-year-old campaign manager.”
But according to Breitbart’s internal investigation, “The person who made contact with Fields was likely not Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski.”
That statement on the improbability of Lewandowski’s involvement came just two paragraphs after Breitbart said, “It could not possibly have happened.”
As TheWrap previously reported, Lewandowski is under fire for allegedly yanking Breitbart reporter Michelle Fields out of the way during a Trump campaign event in Florida on Tuesday night.
Fields claims she was trying to ask Trump a question as he left the press conference when, according to her, Lewandowski grabbed her arm and almost threw her to the ground.
Video posted on Breitbart shows the incident, though it’s hard to tell what exactly happened since the camera veers away just as the supposed altercation takes place (see below).
As if to absolve the campaign of wrongdoing, the Breitbart story later claims, “Lewandowski was not the only ‘man with short-cropped hair and a suit’ walking near Trump. And he was walking on the opposite side of Trump from Fields, and Terris.”
But the other man with cropped hair wearing a suit was still a member of Trump’s own Secret Service detail. Breitbart does not explain why this is a material difference.
The only thing that does seem to back Breitbart’s conclusion that it may not have been Lewandowski who roughed up Fields is the fact that Terris is seen casually chatting with Lewandowski immediately after Fields appears to disappear from the frame (supposedly as she was yanked by someone).
Meanwhile, Fields has filed a police report against Lewandowski, according to the Independent Journal Review.
And Lewandowski has also now chimed in, firing off a tweet Friday morning that called Fields “totally delusional.”
@MichelleFields you are totally delusional. I never touched you. As a matter of fact, I have never even met you.
— Corey R. Lewandowski (@CLewandowski_) March 11, 2016
Watch the video of the supposed altercation here:
https://twitter.com/MichaelRWarren/status/708325725703688192?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw