Corey Lewandowski had a $1.2-million offer from HarperCollins to write a book chronicling his time running Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, but the publishing giant backed away from the deal amid concerns about Lewandowski’s nondisclosure agreement, according to two sources familiar with the talks.

Lewandowski, working through a California-based representative named Robert Stryk, began soliciting offers for a book, tentatively titled “Let Trump be Trump,” from multiple publishers in March, while he was working as Trump’s campaign manager, according to one of the sources, a Republican operative.


A source in the publishing industry said Lewandowski’s representative received at least some interest from as many as five publishing houses, but that, in several cases, there was concern about how his nondisclosure agreement might affect any resulting book.

On Tuesday, Lewandowski said, “I’m not shopping a book deal,” and that he doesn’t have an agent doing so on his behalf. “I would negotiate my own deal if I was looking for one.”

He added: “There is no contract for me. I have never seen it.”

But the Republican operative familiar with the talks said Lewandowski personally engaged in discussions with HarperCollins, and assured the publisher that he had received clearance from the campaign to write such a book.

HarperCollins tendered its $1.2-million offer to Lewandowski at some point before mid-May, said the sources familiar with the talks, including one who personally reviewed the proposed contract between Lewandowski and HarperCollins. But after BuzzFeed News reported that Lewandowski was working on a book, he withdrew from active conversations with HarperCollins and the other publishers, the sources said.

At the time, Lewandowski tweeted, “Despite false reports to the contrary, I am not writing a book. I am under a strict confidentiality agreement with Mr. Trump.”

But the sources said Lewandowski revived the talks last week, after he was fired from the campaign following a bitter power struggle with campaign chairman Paul Manafort.

Stryk asked HarperCollins to reinstate its $1.2-million offer, according to the sources.

Stryk, the CEO of an advisory firm called Sonoran Policy Group, declined to comment. The Trump campaign also declined to comment, while HarperCollins didn’t respond to requests for comment.

A publishing source expressed surprise at the $1.2-million offer. “That’s a huge figure for a political consultant who was fired before his biggest race was even over, and who has never won a major race before,” said the source.

One source familiar with the talks said that HarperCollins was concerned that Lewandowski’s firing might diminish the value of the book because he would not be able to provide the same level of insight into the campaign all the way through to Election Day.

But the publishing house nonetheless continued to entertain talks. The sources said HarperCollins asked to review a copy of the nondisclosure agreement Lewandowski signed as a precondition of his employment with Trump in order to assess whether the candidate or his campaign would be able to exercise control over anything in the book.

Lewandowski declined to do so, ultimately leading HarperCollins to decide not to renew its initial offer, according to the sources.

The Republican operative familiar with the talks said that HarperCollins officials were concerned about being subjected to criticism similar to that which CNN faced when it signed Lewandowski as an on-air political analyst under a contract that one CNN source suggested was worth somewhere in the low six figures.

Many in the media and political spheres questioned whether Lewandowski would be able to add any analysis that sheds actual light on the Trump campaign because of his nondisclosure agreement. New York Times television critic James Poniewozik called Lewandowski’s hire “dubious,” on Twitter adding “if he’s signed an NDA, it’s indefensible.”

A nondisclosure agreement signed by one former Trump employee gave Trump wide latitude to decide what could be considered a breach of confidentiality, according to The Associated Press, which obtained a copy of the agreement. It prohibited the former employee from divulging information "of a private, proprietary or confidential nature or that Mr. Trump insists remain private or confidential," according to the AP.

The agreement stipulated that it was binding both during the ex-employee's tenure with Trump and "and at all times thereafter."

