Battery charges have been dropped against Donald Trump's campaign manger.

Corey Lewandowski speaking to the media. ABC/Getty

Donald Trump's campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, will not be prosecuted for simple battery after an incident with former Breitbart reporter Michelle Fields. ABC News. The incident involved Lewandowski grabbing Fields arm after she was asking questions to Donald Trump after the media event had ended. Lewandowski was charged with simple battery and arrested on March 29th and was due to be in court on May 4th. Donald Trump stood by Lewandowski and always claimed he was innocent. 

The incident in question.

My Comment:

I talked about this incident before. Back then I said that I thought it was obvious that the prosecutor in this case did not have a case. It seems now they agree with me. Though the actions in question probably do meet the standards for simple battery, the fact of the matter is that Lewandowski had a built in defense. He was protecting his candidate from a stranger (he didn't know that Fields was a reporter since she wasn't Breitbart's normal Trump reporter) who could have posed a threat. 

I also think that the video released above was damning for Fields claims. You can tell that she was barely touched. Fields had claimed that she was almost thrown to the ground and that she was manhandled. Given the video it's clear that she was lying. Lewandowski barely touched her and the level of actual violence was non-existence. People get roughed up more when they brush into each other on a subway. 

So why was Lewandowski charged in the first place? I think it was politically motivated. This incident hurt Donald Trump when it happened, which was conveniently just before the Wisconsin primary. The incident fed into the "Donald Trump incites violence" narrative and dominated the media for about a week. This, along with a few unforced errors by Trump, may have cost him Wisconsin.

Who was behind it? I have heard some rumors that the prosecutor was anti-Trump, but I think that the prosecutor had a lot of pressure from Trump's political opponents as well. Though I think that Michelle Fields probably just took advantage of this situation for career reasons, some of her supporters were obviously helping her because she could hurt Donald Trump. I think Ben Shapiro, the former at large editor of Breitbart and Michelle Fields biggest supporter, was obviously supporting Fields for political reasons. Shapiro hated Trump and supported Cruz and by implying his campaign staff was beating women, he hurt Trump bad. 

I guess it is possible that Shapiro and other Fields supporters didn't do this on purpose. Some people do tend to believe accusations made by women without looking to much into them. It's also easy to believe negative things about candidates you hate. But I still think that Ben Shapiro should have known better and there is a very good chance that he did. The fact that people stuck by Fields even after the video was released meant that they were either completely delusional or so committed to the narrative that they literally couldn't believe what their eyes were seeing.  

As for Trump, I think this obviously helps him. He stood by his man and it is clear that by not doing what the media wanted him to do, fire Lewandowski and disavow him, helps him now. He's been completely vindicated, and by sticking by Lewandowski it makes Trump look loyal to his supporters. It also looks like there is an obvious media conspiracy against Trump, with the members made up of people that should really be attacking Democrats and not a fellow Republicans. People already think that Donald Trump is being treated unfairly, this incident only feeds the fires of that narrative.