Somewhere tonight, Donald Trump is watching the Russian collusion story take an angry, ranting, ugly turn for the worse as his former aide, Sam Nunberg, fell apart in interview after interview on CNN and MSNBC on Monday.
The appearance of former Trump campaign aide and Roger Stone protege on CNN’s Outfront, his third appearance of the day, got very intense. Host Erin Burnett informed Nunberg that the White House had accused him of having a drug and alcohol problem, and told him that she could smell alcohol on his breath. After saying he had only taken anti-depressants, he blurted out, “I didn’t steal from the campaign…I didn’t have an illicit affair…all I did was work for [Trump] for 4 1/2 years and now I get this [subpoena] crap.”
Sam Nunberg was just straight up asked live on TV if he is drunk or on drugs. … His answer included saying he is on anti-depressants, followed by: “well I didn’t steal from the campaign… I didn’t have an illicit affair…”
— Joy Reid (@JoyAnnReid) March 6, 2018
The rest of the interview was equally as bizarre. After saying earlier in the day that he would not comply with a subpoena from Special Counsel Robert Mueller in the investigation of the alleged collusion between Trump 2016 presidential campaign officials and Russian government operatives, Nunberg simply offered up a dare.
‘I’m not cooperating. Arrest me.’
Nunberg also said he wouldn’t comply with the subpoena because it would require him to go through emails between himself, Roger Stone, and Steve Bannon “for 15 hours, like I’m some kind of paralegal.” Earlier in interviews, he said it would take him 30, 50, and even 80 hours to compile all the emails, since he communicated with the two 15, 30, and 50 times per day. The numbers varied wildly with each interview. He also stated numerous times, as he had throughout the day, that he wouldn’t comply because he wouldn’t testify against his “mentor, father figure” Roger Stone, although he insists Stone has done nothing wrong.
He closed by saying "I didn't steal from the campaign ok? I didn't have an illicit affair with a married man…."
In a year of unprecedented days….this was a doozy https://t.co/qA6YAzcaB2
— Paula Ebben (@PaulaEbbenWBZ) March 6, 2018
Finally, Nunberg laid out his case for not complying by saying:
‘Here’s my problem, is, what I think is, and once again, and you may not, it may not sound reasonable, I think that there are separate rules for Republicans and Democrats, like the fact that Hillary Clinton got away with what she did, what her husband was during doing Barack Obama’s administration, it’s ridiculous…
‘Roger and I, once again, once again, and I don’t care what the White House says, we were treated terribly, we did not help, we were not, this wasn’t some weird plot, that we got fired, that I planned out to have my Facebook posts-, we were treated terribly and we had no contact with the campaign. We didn’t.’
Full the full interview, see video below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVhMMOeuUTc
Featured image screengrab via YouTube
