CNN is denying reports that Corey Lewandowski has been suspended from his job at the network after FEC filings showed his consulting company pulling in $20,000 from the Trump campaign during July and August.
According to Mediaite, Corey Lewandowski was pulled from CNN‘s News Day program Wednesday after the network discovered that he had an ongoing consulting relationship with the Trump campaign, revealed in the campaign’s FEC reports. The report listed Lewandowski’s Green Monster Consulting as a campaign contractor, receiving payments following Lewandowski’s departure from the Trump campaign in early June.
If Lewandowski were receiving payments for ongoing services, that would violate his contract with CNN, which forbids working on the Trump campaign while he is a paid contributor for the network.
The Trump campaign, however, says the $20,000 in payments were part of a severance agreement, inked after Lewandowski left the campaign. “Corey Lewandowski, who is no longer involved in the campaign, continues to receive monthly severance payments,” the campaign said in a statement to Heat Street. “The campaign will continue to honor its contract with Mr. Lewandowski, which stipulates he will be paid through the end of the year. These payments are in no way compensation for services rendered.”
Questions have lingered about Lewandowski’s role with the Trump campaign since his conflict with then-campaign chairman Paul Manafort caused Donald Trump to fire the controversial campaign manager. In July, Heat Street was among the first to ask whether Lewandowski was maintaining an ongoing financial relationship with Trump, even as he was seeking other opportunities.
Just last week, reports revealed Trump still considered Lewandowski a close confidante and that Lewandowski had been tapped to assist Trump in preparing for the upcoming Presidential debates. However, both the campaign and CNN insist that the relationship is arm’s length, and that the only payment Lewandowski receives is the result of his severance contract.
CNN says that Lewandowski is scheduled to appear on the network this afternoon.