Donald Trump campaign chief Corey Lewandowski 'will NOT' be prosecuted

Home Top

'Harmony, it's daddy': Father reunites with daughter, 5, after finding her at homeless shelter two years after his ex vanished with the girl
'I question her judgment': Sanders opens with a full-frontal attack on Clinton in crucial New York debate
Why did Hillary Clinton leave Good Morning America in the lurch by pulling out of live town hall just hours before the event on Friday?
EXCLUSIVE: Illegal immigrants are being deported on PRIVATE JETS - and taxpayers are on hook for $300,000 every day to fly aliens back to their home countries
Faraday Future reveals the Nevada megafactory it hopes will topple Tesla: $1billion facility will build mystery electric car in 2018
Is she about to walk? California board green lights parole for youngest Manson family member, 66, (on her 20th try) - nearly half a century after she held down victim while others stabbed her to death
Struggling TSA comes under fire AGAIN as 6,800 American Airlines passengers miss their flights in ONE WEEK - and it could get worse, company warns
A squeaky clean getaway! Fugitive inmate found inside girlfriend's DISHWASHER wearing only handcuffs and boxers
Shocking moment female soldier has her leg amputated on the New Jersey Turnpike after Humvee blows a tire and flips over
EXCLUSIVE: No cards. No cake. No gifts. Brother of Ethan Couch tells how the family celebrated 'affluenza' teen's 19th birthday behind bars and reveals his sibling thinks his two year sentence will be slashed
Texting to be allowed in America's biggest movie theater chain as executives try to lure millennial audiences
US military would have been within its rights to shoot down Russian aircraft that flew close to one of its warships in the Baltic Sea, John Kerry says
Instagram rolls out personalized video feeds: Updated feature in Explore channel will make it easier to discover new footage
'If we're gonna f*** with n*****s, let's get a rich one!': Hulk Hogan's racist rant during sex encounter with best friend's wife revealed in newly-released audio
How to shift the fat around your middle: Experts reveal the five simple ways to get rid of your spare tyre in time for summer
Android gets an Emoji overhaul: Google reveals redesigned icons will include different skin tones (along with bacon, selfie, and facepalm pictures)
'I thought she was drunk': What witness to Trump campaign aide's alleged battery told police about reporter 'victim' he thought was staging 'a fraudulent slip-and-fall'
'Men should not be going to the bathroom with little girls': Ted Cruz backs North Carolina's transgender bathroom ban in face of gay rights backlash
Bernie Sanders' desperate bid to get the black vote as he reminds Al Sharpton conference - I endorsed Jesse Jackson in 1988
She's all business! Ivanka Trump puts her legs on show in a floral dress from her own fashion line as she takes two-year-old son Joseph to visit a Trump construction site
Say that to my face: Clinton and Sanders will FINALLY meet tonight in Brooklyn a week after he-said, she-said over which Democratic politician is qualified to run the country
Cher is feeling the Bern! Singer and staunch Clinton supporter says she's 'torn up' after discovering she has more in common with Sanders
Trump is more unpopular than any presidential candidate since David Duke: Two-thirds rate the billionaire negatively - and Cruz isn't far behind
Wharton student kills herself by jumping in front of a train - the TENTH suicide at the University of Pennsylvania in three years

Lewandowski was charged with battery against journalist Michelle Fields
Campaign manager was accused of grabbing and bruising her arm at rally
But prosecutors will not be pressing charges court documents reveal Mike Edmondson of Palm Beach County state attorney Dave Aronberg's office says there will be a news conference at 2pm Thursday
For more on Trump's campaign visit www.dailymail.co.uk/trump

Published: 20:08 EST, 13 April 2016 | Updated: 12:50 EST, 14 April 2016

321

View
comments

Donald Trump's controversial campaign manager Corey Lewandowski will not be prosecuted on a charge of battery after he grabbed a female journalist's arm according to court documents.

Reports emerged Wednesday that Palm Beach County State Attorney David Aronberg would make this announcement during a press conference Thursday afternoon.

Meanwhile, the journalist at the center of the incident, Brietbart reporter Michelle Fields, has announced plans to sue both Trump and Lewandowski for defamation, according to Politico.

Scroll down for video

Corey Lewandowski, campaign manager for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, will not be prosecuted for grabbing former Brietbart reporter Michelle Fields (pair above in August)

Police in Jupiter, Florida, had passed a charge of simple battery along to prosecutors last month alleging that Lewandowski grabbed Field's arm at a rally in the state on March 8

While the exact terms of the proposed lawsuit were not revealed, Fields has accused Trump and Lewandowski of lying about the incident in the past.

After Fields filed her initial police report, Lewandowski tweeted to say he had never touched her and hadn't even met her before.

During several subsequent interviews Trump also denied that Lewandowski had touched her, before going on to claim that she had grabbed him first.

CCTV of the incident, provided to the police by the Trump campaign, shows Fields approaching Trump without touching him before Lewandowski reaches through the crowd to pull her away.

Lewandowski was charged last month with intentionally grabbing and bruising the arm of Fields when she tried to question Trump at an event on March 8.

On March 29 police charged Lewandowski with simple battery and passed evidence over to the state prosecutor, including the CCTV video.

While Politico gave no reason for the state attorney's decision, they noted that the prosecutor's office have a higher threshold than the police when deciding whether to press charges.

Lewandowski, 42, who was also caught on video apparently grabbing the collar of an anti-Trump protester at another rally, had been due to appear in court on May 4.

Reached Wednesday evening by DailyMail.com, Lewandowski declined comment.

Messaging her 102,000 Twitter followers on Wednesday night, Fields said: 'Prosecutor's office told me they would inform me of decision tomorrow. If reports true, guess they decided to leak to reporters first. Ugly.

'For those asking, office of prosecutor asked 2 weeks ago if I'd be ok with an apology from Corey. I said ya but haven't heard back about it.'

When Lewandowski was charged, Trump gave unequivocal backing to his top staffer, saying he had no intention of dropping him from the campaign.

However days later the billionaire businessman announced the appointment of Paul Manafort as convention adviser, leading many to speculate that Lewandowski was taking a diminished role.

Speaking out on Wednesday night, Fields accused deputies of leaking the information to the press before informing her, though admitted she would be happy to accept an apology from Lewandowski

When asked he if is now running the campaign, Manafort replied that 'there is only one person running this campaign, and that's Donald Trump.'

Ted Cruz and Hillary Clinton both weighed in on Trump over the charges, blaming the Republican frontrunner for fomenting a toxic atmosphere around his campaign.

Trump, who has been engaged in a running feud with much of the media, told reporters from his plane: 'I tell him, never settle the case, go all the way.'

According to a police report, Fields showed officers 'bruising from what appeared to be several finger marks indicating a grabbing type injury.'

Police said their investigation found 'probable cause' to charge Lewandowski with misdemeanor simple battery over the alleged incident, which took place as the news conference was wrapping up and she followed Trump to ask him a question.

At that point, she says, Lewandowski grabbed her forearm in a scene witnessed by a Washington Post journalist.

'I think if you look at it he was trying to block her, that's the way I view it,' Trump added to journalists. 'She's grabbing me and asking questions. She's not even supposed to ask questions.'

The billionaire candidate, whose rallies have been hit by a string of protests and outbreaks of sporadic violence,