Have you heard the one about Sam Nunberg, you know, the former Donald Trump aide and ally who spent most of Monday afternoon on national television drunk and dissing “The Donald?”
Politics
Unfortunately, there is no punchline and this is no joke. Yes, former Trump right-hand man, Sam Nunberg, made the TV rounds on Monday to tell multiple news outlets that he would “rather go to jail” than honor the “ridiculous” subpoena from special counsel Robert Mueller regarding the Trump collusion/obstruction of justice case.
His meltdown came after a grand jury subpoenaed Nunberg requesting all documents involving Trump and several of his closest advisers. Investigators want emails, text messages, work papers, telephone logs and other documents going all the way back to November 1, 2015 — 4½ months after Trump launched his campaign.
Well, it didn’t take long for at least one TV news host to speculate that Nunberg’s public defiance of Mueller was the result of him partaking in a bit of “liquid courage.”
During Monday afternoon’s broadcast, CNN host Erin Burnett did not mince words when she flat-out asked Nunberg if intoxication was behind his rebellious remarks — particularly since he reeked of alcohol.
“Talking to you, I have smelled alcohol on your breath,” Burnett told Nunberg.
“Well, I have not had a drink,” Nunberg replied.
“Because it is the talk out there — again, I know it’s awkward — let me just give you the question so you can categorically answer,” Burnett asked again. “No, you haven’t had a drink today?”
“My answer is no, I have not,” Nunberg said.
“Anything else?” Burnett asked.
“No, besides my meds. Anti-depressants. Is that OK?” Nunberg replied.
Several close friends of former Trump adviser Sam Nunberg told me they had strong reason to believe he was day-drunk during his cable-news blitz today based on conversations he had with them starting this morning: https://t.co/cfR6uOqxbJ — Asawin Suebsaeng (@swin24) March 5, 2018
Continuing to appear intoxicated, Nunberg went on to say that he is willing to put himself at risk of arrest rather than appear before a grand jury to give investigators old campaign emails that he was ordered to hand over in a subpoena.
Politics
However, a shocking revelation caught everyone by surprise, when Sam Nunberg blurted out that he believes Donald Trump “may have done something during the election” and that former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page almost certainly colluded with Russia to meddle in the 2016 election.
Soon thereafter, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders raced into defense mode and damage control by telling reporters that Nunberg was “incorrect” and then attempted to paint a picture that he clearly lacks credible knowledge on the subject. However, her comments only served to rile up Nunberg even further, who promptly delivered a stern response in his next televised interview.
“If Sarah Huckabee wants to start debasing me, she’s a joke,” Nunberg told NY1. “She’s not attractive. She’s a fat slob.”
OUCH!!
If you thought Sam Nunberg was done there, you’d be mistaken since he went on to trash the Trump White House even further.
“They can say whatever they want. I don’t care. They’re pathetic,” Nunberg said. “Their president has a 33% approval rating, so whatever they want to say about me is fine.”
To say that there is zero love lost between Trump and his former aide would be an understatement. Nunberg was fired from the Trump campaign in 2015 for racially charged posts found on his Facebook page, including a racial slur against Al Sharpton’s daughter. Additionally, Trump filed a $10 million dollar lawsuit against Nunberg in 2016 for allegedly leaking confidential campaign information to the press.
Based on his loose lips and drunken tongue from Monday afternoon, Nunberg should probably prepare himself for another lawsuit — or at least a modicum of wrath — for snitching on and dissing “The Donald” on national TV!
And as of reports early this morning, he apparently began back-peddling sometime late last night.
“Former Trump aide Sam Nunberg backs off defiance, says he will likely cooperate with Mueller”
In an interview with The Associated Press, Sam Nunberg said he was angry over Mueller’s request to have him appear in front of a grand jury and turn over thousands of e-mails and other communications with other ex-officials, among them his mentor Roger Stone.
But he predicted that, in the end, he’d find a way to comply.
“I’m going to end up co-operating with them,” he said.
It was a reversal from his tone throughout the day, when he lashed out at Trump and his campaign and threatened to defy Mueller in a series of interviews. […] – Associated Press (AP)
DJ, I had hoped this would be the story you’d cover today. Thank you.
But before I get into Nunberg’s manic-like behavior I must take the media, specifically CNN and MSNBC to task for what I strongly consider to be absolutely UNethical behavior displayed by both networks, as they clearly exploited this poor fool despite their admitted suspicions that he was -at the very least – intoxicated, “unhinged”… “having a nervous breakdown”…etc.
You could tell by his call-ins to CNN and and MSNBC that he was experiencing some sort of meltdown. And THAT, for me, was painful enough to listen to so I turned away from both networks.
But then shortly thereafter CNN and MSNBC provided a global platform, for the guy to further unravel, LIVE and in living-color. I watched about 2 minutes total of his LIVE interview before turning off my television I turned off my television for the rest of the night.
I view it as the exact same kind of operational BS model that gave Trump a global platform to spew his garbage, 24/7, totaling approx $2 BILLION dollars worth of FREE media.
Suffice it to say, I am so thoroughly disgusted by both networks.
So regarding Sam Nunberg…….
I first became aware of Nunberg via Ari Melber’s show on MSNBC about 2 weeks ago when he did a live interview. I watched maybe 2-3 minutes of the interview before switching the station because frankly, based on what I saw and heard even then, it was clear to me that Nunberg was, at best, of the Cater Page mold – an attention seeking gadfly who’s a bit “off kilter.”
And as I expressed in my previous response, watching him yesterday was painful and it sickened me that CNN and MSNBC couldn’t get enough of exploiting the guy. But I’ve already vented about that..
Nunberg is clearly spooked by the grand-jury subpoena. Roger Stone is his mentor (he said so over and over again). And who knows what legal hot water Roger (and perhaps Nunberg himself ) may be facing related to Russia? Nunberg admitted that over the past 2-3 yrs he’s exchanged emails with Roger and Steve Bannon at least “15 times a day” – which, if true, adds up to a lot of potentially incriminating emails.
Whatever the reason for his very public freak-out yesterday(?)…I suspect Robert Mueller already knows the Truth.
LOL oh brother. You know it is a bad day when somebody has to tell you they smell alcohol on your breath. But unlike my good friend Truth I don’t feel sorry for this guy because he is racist that said some things so bad even Trump had to fire him. I was glad he said all those things on Cnn about Trump and his people being involved with Russia because it will just be more ammunition Muller can use when he finally brings Trump down.
Nooo BD.. I didn’t mean to imply that I felt sorry for the guy.
His interview was painful to watch. But my issue is with cable news media’s craven business model exploiting any twisted or traumatic situation just for ratings.
From CNN:
Sam Nunberg’s interview tour is over for now.
Nunberg was booked to appear on CNN’s “New Day” on Tuesday morning, but he did not show up for the interview.
When an unknown person answered the phone at his home Tuesday morning, the person said Nunberg is done doing interviews.
According to two sources with knowledge of the matter, ABC also pursued Nunberg for Tuesday’s “Good Morning America.” But the producers feared that he would bail, and sure enough, he stopped responding to messages on Tuesday morning. “He went dark,” one of the sources said.
Nunberg’s change in media strategy appears related to the change of heart that unfolded before a national audience during his media tour on Monday.
The former Donald Trump campaign aide gave more than a dozen interviews on Monday in an extraordinary act of defiance of special counsel Robert Mueller.
Related: Who is Sam Nunberg?
He started out by flaunting Mueller’s subpoena and saying “let him arrest me.” At one point, he even handed the subpoena paper to MSNBC anchor Ari Melber. He seemed to revel in the show he was starring in.
“Jake, I’m definitely the first person to ever do this, right?” he asked CNN’s Jake Tapper.
Interviewer after interviewer emphasized that Nunberg could be facing serious legal jeopardy. They asked if he wanted to reconsider his position; asked if he’d consulted his lawyer; and asked about his family.
Nunberg asked questions too — almost as if he was seeking legal advice. In the 7 p.m. hour on Monday, he asked CNN’s Erin Burnett, “Do you think Robert Mueller is going to send me to prison, Erin, for this?” She answered, “I don’t know, but he certainly would be within his rights.”
Some of Nunberg’s associates said they were worried about his state of mind. Burnett said at the end of the interview that she smelled alcohol on his breath. But he denied that he had been drinking.
Paparazzi-style photographers were waiting for Nunberg outside CNN’s New York bureau. He spoke with one of the camera crews and then continued talking with reporters by phone. But his tone changed. By the end of the day, Nunberg signaled that he will continue cooperating with Mueller, after all.
The special counsel office had no comment.
If i may go off topic for just a moment…THIS news just broke:
“Gary Cohn to Resign as Trump’s Top Economic Adviser”
Gary D. Cohn, President Trump’s top economic adviser, plans to resign, becoming the latest in a series of high-profile departures from the Trump administration, White House officials said on Tuesday.
The officials insisted there was no single factor behind the departure of Mr. Cohn, who heads the National Economic Council. But his decision to leave came after he seemed poised to lose an internal struggle amid a Wild West-style process over Mr. Trump’s plan to impose large tariffs on steel and aluminum imports. – NYTimes
H/T: MSNBC
UPDATE -Thurs. Mar. 8, 2018: “Sam Nunberg Says He Complied With Subpoena After All”
“I wasn’t drunk,” the former Trump campaign aide insisted.
Sam Nunberg, the former Trump campaign aide who went on a wild media spree earlier this week, now says that despite his earlier statements otherwise, he has complied with special counsel Robert Mueller’s subpoena and will appear before a federal grand jury on Friday.
In an interview with WABC Radio’s Rita Cosby and Curtis Sliwa on Wednesday, Nunberg said he wanted to “do something memorable” and not be “some side note in history” when he told multiple media outlets Monday that he wouldn’t comply with Mueller’s subpoena and challenged the special counsel to arrest him.
He appeared to walk back those claims later on Monday, saying he’d likely cooperate with the investigation after all, and told The Washington Post on Tuesday that he’d changed his mind about ignoring the order.
Nunberg confirmed on Wednesday that he’d handed over all of the communications Mueller had requested, including emails and text messages with 10 campaign associates, and that he met a deadline imposed by the subpoena.
“I’m not holding anything back,” Nunberg told the radio station. He noted that Mueller’s request for the records, which he initially called ridiculous, “was much easier to do than I initially thought.” – HuffPost