Thread: Michelle Fields says Trump and aide 'defamed' her

Michelle Fields says Trump and aide 'defamed' her
by Brian Stelter @brianstelter April 17, 2016: 4:39 PM ET

Journalist Michelle Fields says she never wanted last month's altercation with Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski to "blow up" into a big story.

But Lewandowski and Trump lied and "defamed me," Fields says, which is why she is now weighing whether to file a defamation lawsuit.

On CNN's "Reliable Sources" on Sunday, Fields said the incident "sheds light on the character of the campaign," adding, "I think a lot of people were surprised by their blatant lies about me. That's why it became a huge story."

A Trump campaign spokeswoman declined to comment.

Last month the police in Jupiter, Florida found probable cause to charge Lewandowski with misdemeanor battery for yanking Fields' arm. The incident happened at a March 8 press event when Fields tried to ask Trump a question.

On April 14, however, the Palm Beach County Florida State Attorney David Aronberg said he would not prosecute Lewandowski. Fields called the prosecutor's handling of the case "a little sketchy" and "very unprofessional."

"Look at the prosecutor and his wife's social media," she said. "They are at Mar-a-Lago, Donald Trump's resort, all the time."

Aronberg's wife Lynn runs a local public relations firm. Photos of the Trumps are on the firm's web site home page and social media.

"I can't speak for anyone else, but if I was a prosecutor, and my wife was trying to monetize her relationship with Donald Trump, and it's right there on her web site... I would recuse myself," Fields said.

Aronberg's office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

In explaining the decision to drop the charges, prosecutors said Lewandowski had a "reasonable hypothesis of innocence" and could say he was defending Trump.

But Fields rejects that explanation. Sunday marked her first TV interview since the prosecutor's decision.

By her own account, her life has been turned upside down by the momentary encounter at the press conference.

She quit her job at Breitbart News because she felt the web site did not properly support her. She moved out of her apartment because news outlets, including Fox News, inadvertently published her address.

"The D.C. police have been incredible...[I'm] working on hopefully getting some of these very serious threats handled," she said. As for what Fields plans to next, she said, "I'm taking it day by day."

Fields' numerous critics believe she exaggerated the incident and sought out media attention.

However, she insists she "stayed quiet" initially because she "didn't want this to become a story," and an apology would have been sufficient. Fields says she was told by a Breitbart editor that she'd receive one.

But Fields says that never happened. Lewandowski said on CNN's "New Day" that he called Fields the night of the incident to find out what happened, but "I never heard back, and to this day I've never heard back from Michelle."

Fields said she was unaware of any call from him.

"There was no voice mail, there was no text, there was no e-mail following up to try to communicate," she said.

Timeline: the accusations and counter-charges

On March 10, Fields published a first-person account of what happened. She described being "grabbed tightly" and said she "almost fell to the ground."

Some Trump supporters and other observers have mocked her for overdramatizing the interaction.

When asked if she exaggerated, Fields said, "That's what I felt... I was going up to him and felt someone pull me back. I'm in high heels. I'm not expecting anyone to yank me."

After Fields wrote the essay, the Trump campaign called her accusation "entirely false." Lewandowski called her "delusional" and an "attention seeker." Trump said the Secret Service told him that "nothing happened" and said he thought "she made the story up."

Fields said those comments were part of a smear campaign. "I think they were trying to defame me, and I think it shows malice," she said, adding that she hasn't ruled out a civil suit, but also hasn't committed to filing one.

She also said she would still appreciate an apology from Lewandowski: "I don't think I'm going to get an apology anytime soon, but it would be nice."

http://money.cnn.com/2016/04/17/medi...iable-sources/

Michelle Fields,

1. You lied about the attack
2. You lied about being grabbed
3. You lied about being yanked to the ground
4. You lied about not losing your balance
5. You lied about not touching Trump
5. You lied about not being called by Lewandowski

No one owes you an apology. You owe both Corey Lewandowski and Donald Trump an apology, then you need to fade away into the oblivion from whence you crawled.

Shame on you. Shame, shame, shame on you. You're a disgrace to women, especially working women. We don't want apologies, we don't want special treatment, we don't want special rules, we want equality and mutual respect.

And shame on the media who exploited their political views to write a story based on a dishonest narrative created by a liar instead of honesty, facts and investigative journalism.

For example, if Chris Wallace on Fox News had done some actual investigative journalism, he would already know that Corey Lewandowski had submitted his phone records to the police in Florida that confirmed he placed a call to Michele Fields, AFTER her tweets and public spectacle and he found out who she was, a phone call she claims he never made.

But today Chris Wallace wanted to challenge and attack Corey over not apologizing and never calling her, so of course Corey was ready and set Chris straight with the evidence that he did call her and she never called him back.

This woman is a liar, a fabricator, a player .... and thank goodness she remains unemployed. May she never be given another Press Credential.

You defamed yourself Fields!

W

I guess no one, not even a Breitbart reporter, is above the Victim Narrative these days.

She may want to ask herself how she got in that situation to begin with. The press conference was over yet she thinks she can just walk up on a man that has had his life threatened with his bodyguards in tow. Why did she think she was so special that she was entitled to a one on one interview? Did she really think she was an exception to the rules? She is lucky she didn't get thrown on the floor and handcuffed. You just don't walk up on someone like that and not expect a reaction.