Nunberg Says He Enjoyed Defiance But Will Comply With Mueller
Nunberg Says He Enjoyed Defiance But Will Comply With Mueller
(Bloomberg) -- Longtime Donald Trump associate Sam Nunberg said he loved the attention he received from a round of media interviews this week defying special counsel Robert Mueller but now plans to comply with the prosecutor’s subpoena as quickly as possible.
Nunberg also sought to clarify his on-air speculation during the interviews of possible misconduct by Trump during the campaign.
The president “never did anything illegal or wrong around me,” Nunberg told Bloomberg News in an interview Wednesday. He added that based on questions prosecutors put to him, "It’s my impression that they may have something on him. But perhaps they don’t."
Nunberg said he plans to testify before a grand jury on Friday as scheduled and will hand over “as quickly as possible” email communications with the president and nine other Trump associates that Mueller demanded. He said compiling the emails turned out to be easier than he thought.
In a frenzied series of cable television appearances Monday afternoon, Nunberg vented against Mueller’s subpoena and said he wouldn’t comply.
The voluble interviews stirred a backlash from some commentators. Axios criticized reporters for their coverage of Nunberg’s antics, calling the episode “awful scandal porn” and describing the former Trump aide as having a “sad, epic meltdown” on national television.
"I don’t feel exploited," Nunberg said Wednesday. "I was playing everywhere," he said. "I was trending No. 1 on Twitter from a couch in my office."
Nunberg acknowledged to Bloomberg that he had strategized how to reverse damage to his reputation from his phoned-in cable news appearances. On Tuesday and Wednesday, he reached out to friends and reporters to argue that there was a strategy behind the TV spree -- and that it wasn’t a drug- or alcohol-fueled meltdown.
"This is my personality," he said.
Emails, Texts
Nunberg expressed concern Monday that his lawyer, Patrick Brackley, would "dump" him for giving public statements amid the Mueller probe. Nunberg said Wednesday that Brackley, a family friend, is still representing him.
Nunberg was asked to turn over emails, texts and other communications with 10 campaign associates, including Trump, former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski and outgoing White House communications director Hope Hicks starting in November 2015 and running through the present, according to a subpoena dated Feb. 27 that was seen by Bloomberg News.
The subpoena also seeks his communications with several former Trump aides, including onetime strategist Steve Bannon and former Oval Office operations director Keith Schiller, as well as former campaign advisers Paul Manafort, Rick Gates, Carter Page and Roger Stone. Mueller is also seeking Nunberg’s emails with longtime Trump lawyer Michael Cohen.
Nunberg said Wednesday the emails he found are mostly from Bannon and Stone. None are from Lewandowski, Hicks or Page, he said.
To contact the reporter on this story: Jennifer Jacobs in Washington at jjacobs68@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Alex Wayne at awayne3@bloomberg.net, Mike Dorning, Laurie Asséo
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