Former Trump aide Sam Nunberg spent much of the day Monday telling news media outlets that he would rather go to jail than honor a subpoena from special counsel Robert Mueller, and some observers suggested his defiance might be the product of some liquid courage.
CNN host Erin Burnett told Sam Nunberg that he smelled of alcohol during an interview Monday after she asked him about speculation that intoxication was behind his incendiary remarks.
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"Talking to you, I have smelled alcohol on your breath," Burnett told Nunberg.
"Well, I have not had a drink," Nunberg replied.
"Because it is the talk out there — again, I know it's awkward — let me just give you the question so you can categorically answer," Burnett said. "No, you haven't had a drink today?"
"My answer is no, I have not," Nunberg said.
"Anything else?" Burnett asked.
"No, besides my meds," Nunberg said. "Anti-depressants. Is that OK?"
The interview was one of several Nunberg gave Monday, including one with USA TODAY and at least three with CNN.
Nunberg consistently said he was willing to risk arrest to skip a scheduled appearance before a grand jury and that he refused to give investigators old campaign emails that he was ordered to hand over in a subpoena.
Nunberg also said he thinks President Trump "may have done something during the election" based on the questions Mueller asked him and that former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page had likely colluded with Russians meddling in the 2016 election.
White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said Nunberg was "incorrect" and said he clearly lacks knowledge on the subject.
"If Sarah Huckabee wants to start debasing me, she's a joke," Nunberg told NY1. "She's not attractive. She's a fat slob."
The Daily Beast reported that several of Nunberg's friends were concerned he had been drinking before the interviews.
Nunberg was fired from the Trump campaign in 2015 for racially charged posts discovered on his Facebook page, including one in which he appeared to use a racial slur against Al Sharpton's daughter.
In 2016, Trump sued Nunberg for $10 million for allegedly leaking confidential campaign information to the press.