Katrina Pierson, a Trump campaign official, said she was placating Omarosa Manigault Newman when she indicated on tape that she believed President Donald Trump had been recorded saying the n-word.
Manigault Newman provided CBS News with audio from the 2016 campaign. In the audio played on CBS earlier Tuesday, Manigault Newman, Pierson and campaign aide Lynne Patton discussed the possible existence of a recording where Trump said the n-word, and Pierson can be heard saying, « No, he said it. He is embarrassed by it. »
Pierson told CNN on Tuesday evening that Manigault Newman had brought up the possibility of the Trump n-word tape frequently, like « a dog with a bone, » and that she placated Manigault Newman « a number of times because she would not let this tape go. »
Patton made a similar point in a separate interview on CNN’s « Anderson Cooper 360. »
« There were a lot of times that we talked about this tape because Omarosa was literally obsessed with it, » Patton said. « She brought it up constantly. It’s clear now that the reason why she did was because she was surreptitiously recording us. »
White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said earlier Tuesday that she could not guarantee the tape did not exist, and the interview Tuesday evening added to a winding and ongoing story about the alleged n-word recording, which Trump has denied.
Pierson said for her part, she had never heard Trump say the n-word, and confirmed to CNN that she signed a non-disclosure agreement.
« I did sign an NDA with the campaign because everyone signed an NDA with the campaign, » Pierson said. « I wouldn’t come on this program as a black woman, Erin, and tell you that someone didn’t say a derogatory term when they did. I would just leave the campaign. It’s that simple. »
