Trump Defends Manager: 'Nothing There'

GOP front-runner Donald Trump defended his campaign manager on Twitter on Tuesday, saying of the battery charge filed against him "Nothing there!"

Corey Lewandowski, 42, was charged for intentionally grabbing and bruising the arm of Michelle Fields, a reporter at the time for the conservative news outlet Breitbart, against her will at a Trump campaign in Jupiter, Fla. on March 8.

The Jupiter Police Department on Tuesday released a video showing the incident between Fields and Lewandowski. Unlike previous videos released by news networks which were at the news conference, the new video is not obscured by people.

But Trump, on Twitter, said the video didn't show anything.

Wow, Corey Lewandowski, my campaign manager and a very decent man, was just charged with assaulting a reporter. Look at tapes-nothing there!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 29, 2016

Trump's spokeswoman Hope Hicks also issued a statement disputing the fact that Lewandowski, 42, was arrested, as was asserted in a police department statement.

"Mr. Lewandowski was issued a Notice to Appear and was given a court date," Trump's camp said in a statement. "He was not arrested. Mr. Lewandowski is absolutely innocent of this charge. He will enter a plea of not guilty and looks forward to his day in court. He is completely confident that he will be exonerated."

 

Lewandowski was charged with simple battery, defined under Florida law as intentionally touching or striking a person against their will. For a first offense, it is a misdemeanor in the first degree, which carries a maximum sentence of one year in prison or a fine of $1,000.