‘My name is Ms. Hicks’: Hope Hicks was forced to interrupt Jerry Nadler to correct him after he repeatedly refers to her as ‘Ms. Lewandowski’ in what congressman blasts as insinuation about her personal life
- Judiciary Chairman Rep. Jerold Nadler repeatedly referred to Hicks as ‘Ms. Lewandowski’ during her closed door testimony
- Several instances drew no remark
- Hicks finally corrected him on her name and he apologized
- Page Six reported during the campaign that the two Trump aides got into a shouting match that spilled onto 5th Ave.
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerold Nadler is under fire for referring to longtime Donald Trump aide Hope Hicks as ‘Ms. Lewandowski’ during her closed-door testimony this week.
Nadler, a longtime New York member who regularly flashes his knowledge of legal procedure when holding the gavel at committee hearings, apologized after Hicks brought up the issue, as revealed in a transcript Nadler released Thursday afternoon.
‘My name is Ms. Hicks,’ the former White House communications director told Nadler.
‘I’m sorry, Ms. Hicks. I’m preoccupied,’ Nadler told her.
She then continued on with her testimony. It was the third time Nadler had made the mistake during her eight-hour questioning.
Some critics assumed that Nadler had not committed a slip-up, but deliberately inserted the name of former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski.
The fiery Lewandowski, now a lobbyist, was the subject of a series of questions earlier in Hicks’ testimony.
However the pair were also the subject of innuendo during the campaign, after Page Six reported they were discovered having a shouting match not far from Trump campaign headquarters that spilled out onto Fifth Avenue.
Hicks corrected Nadler after his third mistake
Nadler explained that he was ‘preoccupied’
Nadler tried to get answers from Hicks about her role in a message President Trump wanted his attorney general Jeff Sessions to deliver about the special counsel
Hicks appeared behind closed doors but her testimony was unsealed
Lewandowski served as Trump’s fiery campaign manager
One witness told the column that Hicks, then 27, told Lewandowski: ‘I am done with you.’
Another source at the time said it was a ‘campaign-related disagreement’ about Paul Manafort taking on more responsibility and Lewandowski’s responsibilities shifting.
Top Intelligence Committee Republican Rep. Devin Nunes, who wasn’t there, called the matter ’embarrassing’ and cast it as a deliberate effort to bring up Hicks’ personal life.
Nones told the Washington Examiner: ‘My sources that were inside and did the interviewing said it was quite embarrassing to watch the Democratic congressmen essentially ask Hope Hicks about her love life.’
He added: ‘I think that’s very bizarre to have a bunch of old, pervy congressmen asking somebody who has no new information about her love life. I think the American people would be ashamed if they knew what actually happened in that room.’
Manafort would end up displacing Lewandowski, then feature prominently in the Russia probe. He is now serving a 7 ½ prison sentence after being convicted of corruption crimes.
Lawmakers tried to get Hicks to answer questions about a letter the president had asked Lewandowski to deliver to former Attorney General Jeff Sessions so that he would say Trump was ‘being treated very unfairly’ by Mueller and ‘hasn’t done anything wrong.’
According to the Mueller report, Lewandowski said Hicks had typed up Trump’s notes for the script he wanted Sessions to deliver. It was investigated as part of a possible obstruction of justice offense.
It was after Hicks read aloud the statement that Nadler referred to her as ‘Lewandowski.’
He then tried asking her a series of questions about it, however he didn’t get far because White House lawyers repeatedly raised objections.
Nadler aides did not respond to a request for comment.