Sam Nunberg vows to refuse Mueller subpoena: What to know about the former Trump aide
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Former Trump aide Sam Nunberg said he would not comply with Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian meddling, and he wants the public to know it.
He told The Washington Post on Monday that he would ignore a subpoena calling him to testify before a federal grand jury Friday regarding Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and potential collusion with President Trump or his associates.
“Let him arrest me,” Nunberg told the newspaper, adding that he plans to physically tear up the documents live on Bloomberg TV. “Mr. Mueller should understand I am not going in on Friday.”
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Nunberg forwarded an email to The Washington Post that appeared to be from Mueller's team requesting “records of any kind” between himself and Trump, as well as a handful of former White House staffers, including his personal friend and former Trump adviser Roger Stone.
“I’m not spending 80 hours going over my emails with Roger Stone and Stephen K. Bannon and producing them,” Nunberg told the newspaper. “Donald Trump won this election on his own. He campaigned his ass off. And there is nobody who hates him more than me.”
Preet Bharara, a former U.S. attorney fired by Trump, said he predicts Mueller's team already has all the emails they need from Nunberg.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“Even if you have someone's emails from other parties to them or from the service provider, you ask for them anyway,” Bharara tweeted Monday afternoon. “Among other things you learn a lot when people selectively disclose.”
It's unclear what would happen if Nunberg doesn't comply with Mueller's request, but the former Trump employee doesn't seem too concerned with any repercussions.
Here's are some things you should know about Nunberg, and his colorful history with Trump.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}He was fired from Trump’s campaign (twice)
Nunberg was fired in 2014 after an unflattering piece about Trump ran in BuzzFeed. Nunberg was blamed by Trump for the bad press.
Nunberg was rehired for the campaign, but was fired again by Trump in August 2015, after past racially-charged Facebook posts dating back to 2007 were discovered.
According to The New York Times, Nunberg degraded Rev. Al Sharpton’s daughter and former President Obama with racial slurs on the social media site. He denied writing the posts, The Times reported.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Trump sued Nunberg
Trump sued his former aide in July 2016 alleging that he violated a confidentiality agreement, according to The Hill. Trump sought $10 million in damages.
The dispute was settled about a month later, and Nunberg’s attorney told Reuters that it was resolved “amicably.”
He admitted to making up a story about Chris Christie
Nunberg admitted to making up a story about then-New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie fetching McDonald’s for Trump.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A 2016 New Yorker piece by Ryan Lizza said Christie, a Republican, had “transformed himself into a sort of manservant.”
“One Republican told me that a friend of his on the Trump campaign used Snapchat to send him a video of Christie fetching Trump’s McDonald’s order,” the piece said.
Nunberg told Politico he made up the story in order to embarrass Christie. However, Lizza denied Nunberg was the source for his article.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}He called Trump an "idiot"
Nunberg sat down for an interview with Michael Wolff for his book “Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House,” an exposé Trump has called a “work of fiction.”
“Ran for president one time and won. And then I hear this guy who doesn't know me at all, didn't interview me for three hours, his imagination,” Trump told reporters at Camp David on Jan. 4, a day after the book was officially released, adding that Wolff's purported hours-long interviews with him never took place.
Unlike Trump, Nunberg did not deny quotes in Wolff's book, though he did say at least one may have been taken out of context.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Leaked passages revealed Nunberg reportedly called Trump an “idiot” during a conversation with then-chief strategist Steve Bannon.
“If you can get this idiot elected twice... you would achieve something like immortality in politics,” Wolff attributed the quote to Nunberg, who was referring to Trump.
Nunberg said the comment was meant to be sarcastic.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“I’m from New York and I’m very sarcastic,” he told ABC News in January. “I certainly probably said that but he’s by no means an idiot, at all.”
He continued, “I’m sure he’s used very colorful words about me in the past.”
Fox News' Jennifer Earl and Alex Pappas contributed to this report.