Corey Lewandowski, now a CNN contributor, remarked on the issue during a panel discussion on the network about Obama's criticism of Trump, the Republican presidential nominee.

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"The question was, did he get in as a U.S. citizen or was he brought into Harvard University as a citizen who wasn't from this country? I don't know the answer," he said.

Lewandowski said earlier that Obama was "fair game" for attacks if he continued to rip Trump.

Political commentator Angela Rye interjected that Trump "has been attacking the president long before he began campaigning."

"He is the one who was the spokesperson for the birther movement and was calling for transcripts and saying that the president was an Affirmative Action admittee of Harvard," she said.

"Did he ever release his transcripts?" Lewandowski shot back. "Or his admission to Harvard University? ... The answer is no."

The White House released Obama's long-form birth certificate in 2011 after pressure and accusations by Trump.

Lewandowski later said he wasn't questioning whether Obama was from the U.S.

"Where's he from, Corey?" Rye asked.

"Hawaii," Lewandowski said.