Donald Trump Threatens Legal Action Over Charge Against Campaign Manager
— -- Donald Trump says he is considering legal action in response to a recent battery charge against campaign manager Corey Lewandowski.
"Frankly, this is not a claim that should have been made," Trump told ABC News' David Muir on "Good Morning America" this morning.
Lewandowski was arrested on Tuesday morning for allegedly grabbing former Breitbart reporter Michelle Fields following a Trump event earlier this month. Trump dismissed the incident as "very minor," saying that "practically nothing happened."
"I'm sure there will be a counter-claim coming down the line," Trump added. "Should I file charges against her because she touched my arm as well?"
Trump insisted that Fields was "hardly even touched."
"Her face wasn’t that of a woman screaming in pain," Trump said. "He didn’t try to throw her to the ground. You look at Twitter, people think it’s a total disgrace she’s filing charges," he said, referring to the Jupiter, Florida, Police Department's investigation revealing probable cause to charge Lewandowski. "This case, let it go to court."
Fields first spoke about the alleged incident in an op-ed published earlier this month. Fields alleges she was assaulted at Trump’s news conference on March 8, the night of the Michigan, Mississippi and Idaho Republican primaries, after posing a question to the New York real estate mogul.
“Trump acknowledged the question, but before he could answer I was jolted backwards. Someone had grabbed me tightly by the arm and yanked me down. I almost fell to the ground, but was able to maintain my balance. Nonetheless, I was shaken,” Fields wrote.
In her op-ed, Fields went on to say The Washington Post’s Ben Terris identified the aggressor as Lewandowski.
"I watched as a man with short-cropped hair and a suit grabbed her arm and yanked her out of the way. He was Corey Lewandowski, Trump’s 41-year-old campaign manager," Terris confirmed.
Lewandowski denied the alleged incident with Fields and called her “totally delusional” on Twitter.
After Lewandowski was charged, the Trump campaign responded with a statement asserting Lewandowski’s innocence.
“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.”
ABC News' Veronica Stracqualursi contributed to this report.
