Manager Corey Lewandowski was. Sked about the interactions on judiciary will come to order. Without objection, the chair is authorized to call recesses at any time. We welcome everyone to todays hearing on president ial obstruction of president ial obstruction of justice and abuse of power. Before we begin i remind our Committee Members that we should refrain from making inappropriate personal references to protected parties, namely the president , Vice President , members of the senate, members of the house. This would include accusations of dishonesty, criminality, treason, or other unethical or imoper motives. The Critical Issues we are addressing today which go to the very core of our constitutional democracy, understandably bring out strong passions in us as they do in the American People. I hope that in what should but i hope that in what should be a spirited discussion of these issues today well stay focused on the issues and take care of to the keep our comments from being directed personally toward the president. I will now recognize myself for n Opening Statement. Todays hearing entitled president ial obstruction of justice and abuse of power. This hearing is the first one designated under t procedures adopted last week in connection with our investigation to determine whether to recommend articles of impeachment with respect to President Trump. We subpoenaed three witnesses for this hear, Rick Dearborn, rob porter and corey lewandoski. Unfortunately we learned last night that the white house is blocking the first two from even showing up and tightly limiting the third. The white house has no authority, legal or authorize, to give these orders. We had wanted these three individuals to testify before the committee and the American People because they are critical witnesses to the incidents of obstruction of justice laid out in the Mueller Report. At least five of those episodes, evidence laid out in special counsels report established that all the elements of obstruction of justice were met. Today, despite the roadblocks the white house has thrown up, well focus on one of the most concerning of those five episodes. It is theredent ordering the attorney general through mr. Lewandoski to stop the special counsels investigation into the president and his campaign. As the report detailed, mr. Dearborn was enlisted as part of that effort as well. Mr. Porter has other Critical Evidence regarding obstruction. As our hearings with the special counsel and other experts established, anybody else involved in these episodes of obstruction would have been charged with a crime. Anyone else. Let that sink in. The president knows this. The white house is intent on preventing the American People from hearing the details. So it is no surprise that the white house blacked two of our witnesses, mr. Porter and mr. Dearborn from showing up at all today. On behalf of the president , the white house, and the department f justice advancing this esame spurious legal doctrine they did when this committee called on the most obstruction most important obstruction witness to testify, former white House Counsel don mcgann. They claim porter and dearborn are absolutely immune from testifying before congress. Theres no such thing. The only court tover consider this purported absolute immunity doctrine totally rejected it. That is why we have begun to court in the mcgann case to set it asi what is happening today is more troubling than mcganns failure to appear. Because even if we apply d. O. J. s own made up rules of absolute immunity, i question how mr. Dearborn fits under those rules. According to d. O. J. Opinions, absolute immunity applies to, quote, the president s immediate advisors who serve as the president s lter ego, close quote. To extend this already dubious doctrine to someone like mr. Dearborn who is far more remove fled president than mr. Mcfwan is a dangerous stretch. I think we should call this what it is. An absolute coverup by the white house. Mr. Lewandoski is here and has Vital Information about on instruction of justice. The white house wants to limit our and your ability to hear it all. Mr. Lewandoski was called alone, oneonone, into the oval office on june 19, 2017, and again on july 19, 2017, and the president did something i find startling. He dictated a speech to mr. Lewandoski, a speech not for mr. Lewandoski but for attorney general sessions to deliver, thentern sessions. He secretly told mr. Lewandoski to put the following words in the a. G. s mouth, quote, i am going to meet with the special prosecutor to explain this is very unfair and let the special prosecutor move forward with investigating election meddling for future elections so nothing can happen in future elections. Page 91 of the Mueller Report. Limiting the investigation to future investigations would have ended the investigation of the president s conduct. The evidence found by the special counsel met all the elements of obstruction of justice. Mr. Lewandoski was nervous about this tchand from his former boss as he should have it. It raises serious kess about criminal conduct. To be fored bien from doing anything about the Mueller Investigation, he was not allowed to curtail it. Mr. Lewandoski tried to surreptitiously meet with the a. G. And then tried to pass the our investigation also extends beyond the Mueller Report, looking at abuse of power more broadly. We will not be gone to buy the cover of. We intend to secure accountability for any wrongdoing because no one is above the law, not even the president of the United States. I now recognize the Ranking Member of the Judiciary Committee, mr. Collins, for his Opening Statement. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Thank you for introducing this hearing which is now as you said them under the new rules. Alongrules were here all and yes, here we go again. Say they are, because we like the packaging. I have never seen so many enjoying the packaging, because they cannot sell the product. They just keep packaging it differently. We had mr. Mueller here. There are impeachable offenses, as the chairman said, clearly in , but here iseport the problem. 17 members of the Judiciary Committee has said the president should be impeached, so why are we still investigating it . The problem is, you do not have the votes. You do not have the numbers. Even if you got it out of this committee, you do not have it on the floor. That is your problem. We are going to drag this committee through oversight hearings, talking about things that have been talked about ad nauseam, and we will say what it really is and really is not, and all of the things we are going to try to implied that this president should not be president. You know, it is really interesting. We just heard a moment ago that it was said that they made it rules at doj, they were not made up rules when the Obama Administration use them. Were they made up rules then . Just asking, for a friend. You know, this is amazing. We come into the situation, the chairman also said that while we are doing this and stopping committees for searching into issues like the immigration issue and foreign influence, i just want to remind everybody here watching and everybody here to see the show today and also to remind the majority that they have complete jurisdiction over immigration. We have complete and total jurisdiction over immigration, for the most part. If you want to fix the border you do not want to do that. You like having the press here. You like the cameras, because it makes it appear that something is happening that is not, but the real thing that is coming out is that the American People are starting to get it. They are starting to get it that if you are howling at the wind, you are not doing anything. You try to make them think you are, but youre not. You want to bring administrators in there and yell at them because you do not like what is happening, and i agree, we need to fix it. Bring your bill. Bring my bill, but quit talking about it. We talked about foreign influence in the Mueller Report, but where is the bill . Where is the bill . We do not do anything about it. We like to talk about it, because we like to make the president look bad, because that is the implication we are given. Also do not want real information in this committee either. If we did, we would work like the Intel Committee. We would have that before. We would work with witnesses to get them to come in. Mr. Lewandowski i believe said he would come in without a subpoena, but we subpoenaed him earlier, and i was told earlier this year from the chairman that a subpoena is the start of dialogue. Who cares what we are just the Judiciary Committee. This is the problem we are having. This committee does not want to interview don mcgahn behind closed doors. They do not try to actually get information. That is what real oversight is. Real oversight is trying to get information, but we do not do that. I understand it is tough, making a promise and not keeping it. I understand. All of us in this room can relate to a time when we made a promise, and we could not keep it. Our majority made a promise. We will impeach him. We will investigate him. Inmost of them, it happened november 2016, because they could not believe that donald won, and they still cannot believe it today. Not doing oversight, this is certainly not being fair, but we certainly like to issue subpoenas. We are sitting setting a world record. 40 times faster. But we do not want any answers because we are not willing to engage in dialogue to get answers. At juste this is more wanting to get at it, because it is not like mr. Lewandowski has stayed silent on this issue. He has testified before the Senate Select committee on intelligence and others, and now, he has also voluntarily testified before the special special counsel Robert Mueller. It is new because it is another time to rehash an old story. This is when abc and nbc, at the broadcast booth, they bring out their new shows. Not the rerun season. We should get to something new. One last thing before we get the show going. The Judiciary Committee is the Judiciary Committee for a reason. It is because we oversee the court system. For any person who has actually been here, an attorney in this room, who has appeared before a judge, a judge is a stickler for rules. Some will laugh, and some will not care, but for some of us, it does matter. The subpoena today for mr. Lewandowski and others said 10 00 a. M. This morning. This just shows you how poorly designed this entire impeachment charade is we are doing. The subpoena is not done properly. It compels for 10 00 this morning. It says the hearing is at 1 00, not 10 00. Proper notice. That is a simple subpoena issue. This is the Judiciary Committee. No offense, but natural resources, i could understand if they get it wrong, or transportation. I do not understand how judiciary gets this wrong. The chairman wants to hold people in contempt for not showing up, but try to get this to hold up in court, because there is no clarification of and what time do you appear at court . When you feel like it . No, when it says. Unless the officer of the court says differently. Here is issue, well, we can do this and other things. We are we issuing subpoenas for a new date and a new time and hold a new hearing. There is probably a date in october summer we have not filled up, but here we go. Mr. Chairman, there is so much we could actually do together. There is so much, but as long as we do not have time, we will continue with rerun season, i dont know why we do this except maybe it is a deficiency. I dont know. Because we just like the show, and the show is going to get even more as it goes today, because the new rules are in efct. Oh, wait, the new rules are in effect, and i have one more of those that we will talk about later when we get to some other questions later. With that, i yield back. Mr. Rman nagler thank you, collins. Todays witness, corey , President Trump president ial campaign. Degreeived a bachelors from Political Science from the university of massachusetts and a masters degree in Political Science from American University and also attended the naval war college. Of refusedputy chief to appear today despite duly issued subpoenas from this committee. As i discussed in my Opening Statement, i strongly disagree with the white house assertion of absolute immunity as to mr. Dearborn and mr. Porter. We are considering all options to enforce these subpoenas. We welcome mr. Lewandowski and thank him for per dissipating and todays hearing. If you will please rise, i will begin by swearing you in. Under swear or affirm penalty of perjury that the testimony you are about to give is true and correct to the best of your knowledge, information, and belief, so help you god . Let the record show that the witness has answered in the affirmative. Thank you, and please be seated. Please note that the written statement will be entered into the record it entirely. I ask you that you summarize your testimony in five minutes. To help you stay within that five minutes, there is a light on your table. When the light switches from green to yellow, you have one minute to conclude. When the light turns red, it signals your five minutes have expired. Mr. Lewandowski, you may begin. Mr. Lewandowski chairman nadler, Ranking Members, and members of the committee, good afternoon. I want to start by expressing that i hope that today will be a hope for the committee and the American People. For the record, as you know, i have already testified before congress at three separate occasions. I sat with the special counsel, and there also, my answers were given freely. In one form or another, i have answered questions for well over 20 hours, so now here i am before the house Judiciary Committee to answer the same questions again. Just last week, this committee, over the objections of the minority, overwhelmingly change the rules, which is very unfair. However, in a spirit of cooperation, i will go forward today. I want to discuss what brought us to this point, my story of joining the Trump Campaign, working through his historic election, and continuing to have the privilege to be part of the greatest Political Movement in our nations history. I present this summary in an effort of truth and transparency to the American People, the very same reason and rationale that this committee offers as a reason for this hearing. Growing up in a bluecollar, singleparent family in massachusetts, i learned the value of hard work, and that work ethic helped put me through college and graduate school. It helped me become a congressional staffer and ultimately a certified peace officer in the state of New Hampshire. However, the world of politics was always a passion, and in january 2015, donald j. Trump, then a private citizen, asked me to help them to explore a possible run for the president. It was an honor and privilege to play such a small part. The campaign started as a small group of individuals helping mr. Trump to make the decision in june 2015 to ride down the golden escalator and seek the republican nomination for the presidency of the United States. For more than a year, i served as Campaign Manager for then candidate President Trump. The operation succeeded in helping him capture the republican nomination. My job was simple. Provide mr. Trump with my best advice, spend his money like it was my own, and give him the support he needed to win. I also set a longterm objectives and managed daytoday decisions. I had the privilege, and it was a privilege, of helping transform the Trump Campaign from a dedicated but small makeshift organization to a historical and unprecedented political juggernaut, and i am proud to say, mr. Trump won 38 caucuses and received more votes than any candidate in the history of the republican party, all while being outspent most of the way. His Historic Campaign up secure mr. Trump secure the republican nomination and ultimately the presidency of the United States. However, since election day, there was bad actors at the fbi and the Intelligence Committee or members from the house majority, that there was efforts of collusion, the American People continue to be sold a false narrative with the purpose of undermining the legitimacy of the 2016 election results, but no matter the size, campaigns are not the most efficient organizations, and while you run in single congressional districts, best imagine what it is like to run a National Campaign that spans all 50 states of the union. Bring my time as Campaign Manager, there were competing efforts for his time. Many were dismissed out of hand. Others were passed on to staffers to be handled. I also received hundreds of thousands of emails, some days with