Trump Stands by Top Aide, Calls Assault Charges 'Unfair'

One of the most unusual and ugly presidential races in memory is getting even more unusual and uglier.

Republican frontrunner Donald Trump is defending his campaign manager Corey Lewandowski who faces a criminal charge of battery for grabbing a reporter's arm.

Video from a Trump rally shows Trump with reporter Michelle Fields by his side -- Lewandowsi grabs her arm pulling her back.

Trump calls the charges unfair and says Lewandowski will continue as his campaign manager.

"Yes, he will. I looked at the tape. I looked -- it's my tape. It was at one of my places. I have great security and great security cameras," the billionaire said.

"I gave the tape, and frankly, if you look at that, people have looked at it, in fact, I just left another area of Wisconsin; we had a whole big meeting with a whole group of people -- big audience, tremendous audience -- and they're all shaking their heads. Give me a break, give me a break." he said.

Other candidates, including Trump's rival Sen. Ted Cruz, also weighed in on the controversy.

"Look, it shouldn't be complicated that members of the campaign staff should not be physically assaulting the press," the Texas lawmaker said.

Trump is also making waves for backing out on his pledge to support whoever the Republican nominee for president.

"No, I don't anymore," he told CNN's Anderson Cooper.

"You don't?" Cooper pressed. 

"No," Trump replied. "We'll see who it is." 

Cruz, on the other hand, says he will support the Republican presidential nominee even if it's Donald Trump. But he said he doesn't expect that to be an issue.

"Let me tell you my solution to that... Donald is not going to be the GOP nominee. We're going to beat him," Cruz declared.

The Texas senator also cautioned, "I'm not in the habit of supporting someone who attacks my wife and family... I think nominating Donald Trump would be an absolute train wreck, I think it would hand the general election to Hillary Clinton."

Meanwhile, Democratic frontrunner Clinton has problems of her own. She's facing a big challenge from Bernie Sanders in New York.

Polls show Clinton leading in the Empire State, where she served as a senator. But Sanders has roots there too. He was born in New York and Politico reports his campaign has outlined a new strategy for doing well there by targeting key districts to boost his vote.

Meanwhile, another judge has raised questions about Clinton's handling of her emails. In an order filed in federal court Tuesday, U.S. District Court Judge Royce C. Lamberth called the former secretary of state's use of a private email server for government business "extraordinary."

He said there was evidence of government wrong-doing and bad faith in how the issue had been handled.

"Where there is evidence of government wrong-doing and bad faith… limited discovery is appropriate, even though it is exceedingly rare in FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) cases," Lamberth wrote.

Meanwhile, this wild campaign season may not be over, especially for the GOP, until the convention, with a potential contested convention for the Republicans still a possibility.