What Was Sam Nunberg Doing Yesterday? Here's What To Read
On Monday afternoon (and well into the evening), former Trump aide Sam Nunberg went on a spree of live TV appearances, spurred by a grand jury subpoena issued to him by Robert Mueller. It was a slowly-unfolding meltdown, considerably darkened by the revelations later in the day that Nunberg may have been inebriated.
So what was Nunberg up to? Was it nothing more than a pressure-induced unraveling, or did he have a concealed purpose? Here's what to read.
Maybe He Was Just Really Angry About The Deadline Of Mueller's Subpoena?
The stated reason for Nunberg's TV appearances and refusal to comply with Mueller's subpoena? It was too hard — too much work to do in too little time:
Nunberg told Yahoo News that he was refusing Mueller's document request because it came with an unrealistic deadline, considering the large amount of material requested. Nunberg said he had extensive correspondence with former chief White House strategist Steve Bannon.
"Here's the other thing I didn't find fair — they sent it to me on a Friday and they wanted it by Monday at 3 p.m. And I'm sitting there, I'm trying to earn a living," said Nunberg, who now works as a consultant. "What do I have to go over? … Do you know how many emails I email with Steve Bannon? I didn't think it was fair. Do you think it was fair?"
He's Sending A Message To Trump
For The Atlantic, Adam Serwer spoke to John Barrett — who was part of the Iran-Contra investigation — who speculated that Nunberg's TV day may not have been all that it seemed:
Barrett said that while Nunberg's statements are certainly unusual, there may be an ulterior motive behind his appearance. Nunberg might be attempting to put his continuing loyalty to Trump on display, or encourage other potential witnesses to defy Mueller. He could be trying to goad the president into firing the special counsel by publicly announcing Mueller's interest in Trump's business practices. Or he may be auditioning for immunity, by convincing Mueller that he may possess information that the special counsel would find useful, and that he would cooperate if protected from legal exposure. "I wouldn't take his appearance at face value," Barrett said.
He Likes Stunts, And He Ran With This Opportunity
McKay Coppins, who like many other reporters, has known Nunberg for years, thinks there's a simpler explanation for his actions — he sees politics as a performance and he seized at the opportunity for a performance that captivated observers for most of a day:
[A]s anyone who's known Nunberg for a while can attest, his behavior Monday doesn't necessarily require special explanation. He's been pulling stunts like this for years — this is just the first time he's gotten the kind of audience he's always craved. I first met Nunberg in person in 2014, when he arranged for me to interview his boss, Donald Trump… but as I would later learn, his true mentor was actually Roger Stone. As Nunberg told it, he was sitting in a law-school class one day when someone emailed him a Weekly Standard profile of the notorious Republican operative. Stone was described in the piece as a "Nixon-era dirty trickster" and "professional lord of mischief," and he was quoted talking about politics as "performance art … sometimes for its own sake." Nunberg was enthralled by the mythology surrounding Stone, and seemed determined to develop a similar reputation for himself.
He Wants To Protect Roger Stone
Nunberg clearly sees Stone as a mentor, and talking to New York Magazine's Olivia Nuzzi last night, it seemed his motivation in not turning over his emails with Stone to Mueller was to protect Stone:
New York Magazine: When you sat down with Mueller, was it contentious?
Nunberg: Not at all! Once again, here's what pissed me off, and I think I explained this to you before, I'm repeating myself: but what really pissed me off is they called me up, I went in, I met with them, and then they give me a subpoena and tell me I have to answer it by 3 p.m. today and they want me back on Friday for grand jury testimony? To start a circumstantial case against Roger Stone? Whether Roger likes me or not, whatever Roger says about me — I think he does like me. As I said, he's my mentor. He trained me. I'm not going to help them set up a case against him. I think they don't like him.
He Was Melting Down — And Possibly Drunk
Towards the end of the night, CNN's Erin Burnett, who had Nunberg in the studio, told him that she smelled alcohol on his breath. The Daily Beast talked to several "friends" of Nunberg who echoed those concerns:
Rarely, if ever, has a political operative acted so brazenly when facing the very real prospect of being tossed in jail. Nunberg seemed not to care about how the chips would fall. But several of his friends told The Daily Beast they were concerned that he was putting himself in severe legal jeopardy by going on multiple live cable-news programs Monday afternoon.
They also said that they were worried Nunberg had been drinking prior to dialing in to MSNBC and CNN.
Starting Monday morning, Nunberg began calling several close associates that he was flatly refusing, at this time, to cooperate with Mueller's investigation into alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election. Three Nunberg friends said they walked away from those conversations fearful that he was "drinking again" and was about to embark on a personal tailspin. They didn't know it would play out on daytime TV.
Whatever Nunberg's intentions (or lack thereof), he appeared to rethink things towards the end of the night, telling CNN and MSNBC that he would comply with Mueller's subpoena. He already missed the Monday deadline, so we'll see where this goes.
Update, 11:54 am: Lending credence to the "meltdown" theory, Nunberg told Fox Business' Charles Gasparino that he is cooperating with Mueller and will "get treatment" after he appears before the grand jury at the end of the week.