Bob Dole reflects on Trump
"The buck stops at the top," Lewandowski, a CNN contributor, said.
"I think it's shameful that Melania Trump, who is such a great person, who represents her husband and would represent this country amazingly as first lady, is under this controversy because the staff didn't do her well," Lewandowski said.
Of Manafort, he said, "Whoever signed off, with the final sign off, and allowed this to go forward, should be held accountable," he said. "I think if it was Paul Manafort, he'd do the right thing and resign."
The Trump campaign then said no one would be fired or disciplined over the incident.
Multiple sources with knowledge of the speech writing process within the campaign said Trump's son-in-law and trusted confidante, Jared Kushner, got the ball rolling in June when he enlisted two pre-eminent speechwriters, Matthew Scully, a speechwriter for George W. Bush, and his partner John McConnell, to draft Melania's speech.
Melania Trump's unexpected moment
They delivered a prospective speech to the campaign that incorporated humor, some light teasing of the real estate magnate and a focus on her upbringing in Slovenia and efforts to become an American citizen, according to several sources who read the original draft.
The draft was well received by the Trump campaign mid-June. But somewhat mysteriously, Scully and McConnell were not consulted again.
The speech Melania Trump delivered on Monday night was an entirely different speech than what they had drafted, with the exception of a half-dozen lines. The controversial lines echoing Michelle Obama's speech were not in Scully and McConnell's original draft.
No clarity about who was responsible
Trump advisers said Tuesday that Melania had been guided by a number of different people throughout the process, but offered no clarity about who was responsible for the paragraph and phrases in question.
Donald Trump Jr. defended both Melania and Manafort during an interview with CBS This Morning Co-host Norah O'Donnell -- batting away Lewandowski's comments.