Paul Manafort, who briefly served as President Donald Trump's campaign chairman last year, served a "very limited role" within the campaign, the White House said Monday.
On the same day FBI Director James Comey threw cold water on Trump's claim that Trump Tower was the subject of a surveillance operation last year, White House spokesman Sean Spicer downplayed Manafort's former role on team Trump.
"There has been discussion of Paul Manafort, who played a very limited role for a very limited amount of time," Spicer said early in Monday's White House press briefing.
Later, Spicer was asked a follow-up regarding Manafort, who worked for the campaign from March-August last year, and whether or not there was collusion between him or anyone else on the campaign and Russia. He only served as campaign chairman starting in June, Spicer said.
"I believe Paul was brought on sometime in June and by the middle of August he was no longer with the campaign," Spicer said. "Meaning that for the entire final stretch of the general election, he was not involved. So to start to look at some individual who was there for a short period of time, or separately, individuals who really didn't play any role in the campaign, and to suggest that those are the basis for anything, is a bit ridiculous."
Early Monday morning, Trump called suggestions that there was collusion between his campaign and Russia "fake news."