On Tuesday, ex-Trump campaign leader Paul Manafort was convicted of fraud and ex-Trump lawyer Michael Cohen admitted to paying hundreds of thousands of dollars to women who supposedly had affairs with Trump.
On Monday, Republican Congressman Jeff Duncan celebrates his Faith and Freedom BBQ with the guy Manafort replaced and an ex-Trump campaigner who fought to dump billions of dollars of untraceable money into American politics.
Corey Lewandowski, who served as Trump campaign manager during the 2016 GOP primary, and David Bossie, a Trump campaign deputy and transition team leader, will serve as the keynote speakers at the Christian congressman’s annual barbecue.
Duncan is no stranger to mixing his religion and his politics. A few months ago, he said it was his Christian faith that justifies his support of offshore oil drilling. No word yet on how his faith affects his view of the president’s reported marital infidelity.
Lewandowski served as campaign manager until summer 2016. In June of that year, Trump advisor Paul Manafort manipulated ‘the boss,’ as Lewandowski called him, to install him as campaign manager. Ultimately, shady payments Manafort received, reported by the New York Times, led to the smooth-talking consultant’s undoing later that summer. Since the campaign, Lewandowski has been a consultant and frequent TV news analyst.
Bossie has led the conservative group Citizens United since 2001. The group spearheaded a Supreme Court case against the FEC that ultimately led to ‘independent expenditures’ being ruled protected speech, which triggered a tidal wave of dark money to special interest groups, a change the political system is still reckoning with.
This week, Manafort was convicted of tax fraud, bank fraud, and failing to disclose a foreign bank account. Former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen pleaded guilty to campaign finance violations on Tuesday, detailing payments he made to two women during the 2016 campaign at the direction of the president.
Asked about Manafort and Cohen this week, Duncan said little that veered from non-specific talking points echoed by GOP colleagues, contending that neither legal matter has anything to do with Russian collusion.
Duncan’s event takes place in Anderson, S.C. on Mon. Aug. 27 at 6 p.m. Tickets start at $35. Keep the City Paper free We don't have a paywall. Each week's printed issue is free. We're local, independent and free. Let's keep it this way. Please consider a donation of $100 to keep the City Paper free. Donate: chscp.us