So I am not supporting Trump to say the least but: I can’t see how the clip of CL touching the Breitbart reporter can be interpreted to have caused a bruise.
My favorite guy on MSNBC, Chris Hayes, got more indignant over this than he ever has over anything I’ve seen from him, when he was cross examining the Lewandowski lawyer.
The police saw more than a touch.
So it was a grasp. Have you looked at the clip? It’s less than a second in real time and she doesn’t seem to flinch or change momentum.
Watch her feet and the edge of the rug/carpeting. She definitely moved backward.
And any unwanted touch, let alone grab, is assault. ( or battery)
It’s up to the DA to decide if it warrants bringing charges.
If someone grabbed me and there was cop nearby, I would absolutely call the cop over.
But she didn’t do that.
Do you think you could bruise another person like that using one hand momentarily in passing, through clothing?
I just don’t see why that’s not a part of the discussion.
He is also being accused of causing bruises, so regardless of what the definition of battery is, the bruises are part of the issue, and it’s seemingly not being discussed for a reason I can’t see at all.
I saw the clip. There is no doubt that he reached from behind to grab her. To me, it looked like he grabbed her upper arm because you can see the fabric of her sweater being pulled back and off her shoulder. For that reason I’m somewhat skeptical about the veracity of the photo she tweeted showing bruises on her lower arm near her wrist.
Why do you think he didn’t cause a bruise? The cops seem to accept that he did, and they’re used to seeing that sort of thing.
The reason the bruise is not being discussed much is because causing a bruise is not an element of the crime he is charged with. He would still be charged even without it. It’s evidence, not a crime in itself.
The way he grabbed her, absolutely. It was backwards, but he did get a pretty good hold on her. My only question as far as that’s concerned is why, if he grabbed her upper arm, is she showing a bruise on her forearm? But then it’s also not clear what he’s doing with his other hand. He clearly got her strongly enough to pull her back, though.
The whole thing will be wrangled in the courts, I’m sure. To me, it fits the definition of battery, but the more interesting thing is the Scientology strategy the Trump campaign used after this was first reported. Deny and attack the accuser, and then obfuscate when you’re proven conclusively to be lying.
Nice precedent for a candidate.
You already said he “touched” her, then said he “grasped” her. I haven’t seen the video, but a grasp can certainly cause a bruise, and a bruise should be visible. I would hope the police would have documented this bruise.
I saw another story saying the Lewandowski at first denied even touching her, so his word is clearly worth shit if that is true.
IIRC, (I’ve only seen clips on CNN) during the recent townhall between Anderson Cooper and Trump, didn’t they say that the Breitbart reporter had grabbed Trump just before CL reached out to/grabbed the Breitbart reporter? Cooper and Trump discussed whether Trump should file charges against the Breitbart reporter.
As an aside, will any news agency hire a reporter who manhandles the interviewee?
She didn’t. It’s another Trump/Lewandowski lie.
It’s interesting that one of Lewandowski’s lawyers is a former US Attorney who resigned after he bit a stripper.
Where is this video, so we can see whether the reporter grabbed or touched Trump, and the campaign manager grabbed or touched the reporter?
I’ve only seen the CNN clips on CNN but you should be able to find part 1, which includes the “he touched her, she touched him”, conversation by searching for -
FULL CNN Republican Town Hall [PART 1] With Donald Trump & Anderson Cooper [03-29-2016]
Really, the most important point is that the NY Times headline is:
Charged with battery! Hilarious!
Anyone who watches that video at the NYTimes link and concludes that it clearly refutes or corroborates the level of force used by Lewandowski is nuts. It might as well be a ink blot.
But since his initial position was that he never even touched her, I’m thinking she’s the more credible one at the moment. Something I never thought I would say about a goddamn Breitbart reporter.
Boooooooo.
Well it’s not my call on what he did. It’s ambiguous so far. We are not gong to agree whether that could have caused a bruise. My common sense tells me it couldn’t.
He might have denied touching her early in the process, and didn’t know who she was. But she’s a Breitbart reporter. I weigh those two things similarly.
I’m thinking she felt violated and was pissed, rightly so, and wanted an apology. I don’t see injuries happening.
I’m still curious as to what his story is about his motives in those 5 seconds.
Agreed. The pro-Lewandowski narrative has gone from “We didn’t know Fields was from Brietbart” (as though it would be okay if she were from the NYT) to denial that anything happened to Fields to “She touched Trump, so it’s okay.”