Sam Nunberg Image by Getty/YouTube

Former Donald Trump campaign aide Sam Nunberg, who had balked at testifying in the investigation of Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential campaign, appeared at the federal courthouse in Washington on Friday as part of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s probe.

Nunberg, who was seen by reporters arriving at the U.S. District Court in Washington, had been subpoenaed by a grand jury but in a daylong televised circus on Monday he said he would ignore the order, even at the risk of going to jail. Later in the day he said he would comply with the subpoena.

Nunberg shocked Washington observers with his series of unfiltered and sometimes contradictory interviews on Monday. He offered speculation on figures in the Russian investigation and said he did not want to sort through his emails as Mueller’s subpoena had ordered.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

A CNN interviewer told Nunberg she smelled alcohol on his breath but he denied he had been drinking.

Nunberg, 36, is an associate of Trump ally and longtime political consultant Roger Stone. Mueller wants to determine whether Stone played any role in the publication of Democratic emails hacked by Russian intelligence operatives, according to sources familiar with the investigation.

Russia has denied the allegations and Trump has said there was no collusion between Moscow and his campaign.

Nunberg first worked for one of Trump’s businesses and later helped advise his presidential campaign, but he was fired in August 2015 amid reports that he posted racially charged messages on Facebook.

Nunberg also was close to former White House adviser Steve Bannon, who has met with Mueller’s team on several occasions last month, the sources said.—Reuters

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. We’re in the middle of our Passover Fundraising Drive, and we have a very ambitious goal of $127,000 by April 21.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a Passover gift today!

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Make a Passover Gift Today!

$90 $180

$360

Other amount