BILL HEMMER (CO-HOST): How well do you know Rob Porter?
COREY LEWANDOWSKI: I met Rob, I think, on two occasions professionally, but have never had any type of personal relationship with him.
HEMMER: Could the White House have handled this better, Corey? What do you think?
LEWANDOWSKI: Well, Bill, there's no question they could have handled it better. It seems like the process they were supposed to have in place have failed. The checks and balances which should have been in place failed. The public reports now say that multiple people in the building were made aware of this over the course of the last few months, and if that's the case and they didn't act, then the process and the procedure that should have been in place to ensure that individuals who have access to the most classified information and weren't going to be granted that access should have been upheld. So, was this something that the dog ate my homework or this docket was put on the shelf to protect somebody? If that's the case, I think there's accountability somewhere.
HEMMER: When was the last time you spoke with the president, Corey?
LEWANDOWSKI: I had the privilege of being over at the White House last Monday but haven't spoken to him since then.
HEMMER: OK. Is [White House chief of staff] Gen. [John] Kelly in trouble? His job?
LEWANDOWSKI: That's a question for the president. I think the president is the only person who's going to make the decision if John Kelly should stay on the job. Look, the general is there to put in policies and processes and procedures. And in this case, those didn't work and we need to find out why. And so where the buck stops, I guess at the end of the day, is with the general, but those processes have to be followed and there has to be a procedure. If people aren't going to qualify for a top secret security clearance they shouldn't be in the building.
