Former DOGE staffer Edward Coristine appeared on “Jesse Watters Primetime” on Monday to recount the violent attack that left him injured earlier this summer.
Coristine was assaulted at about 3 a.m. by a group of teenagers in Washington’s Logan Circle neighborhood on Aug. 3.
Last week, a 15-year-old from Hyattsville, Maryland, admitted guilt in juvenile court to felony assault, simple assault, robbery, and attempted robbery related to the event.
Speaking to Fox News Channel host Jesse Watters, Coristine said that he was hanging out with his friend group shortly before the attack.
“I was escorting a friend back to her car, and as we approached, a group of 10 guys was right across the street,” Coristine recalled. “They began shouting at us. I immediately sensed something was very wrong with the situation.”
The 19-year-old said that he rushed his female friend into the driver’s seat, and she locked herself in the car before the attack began.
“They’re just a few feet away and they slammed me against the car,” Coristine said.
“They started throwing a bunch of punches. I keep my hands up…luckily, the whole thing didn’t last too long.”
“The police arrived pretty quickly, so I was fortunate to only suffer a broken nose and a concussion,” he added. “It could have been far worse.”
When asked what inspired him to move to Washington, DC and work for DOGE, Coristine said that he felt a “great responsibility to serve my country.”
“My grandfather was a KGB double agent for the Americans, and he sacrificed his life so I could live in this free country that I cherish,” the teenager said.
“So when I saw these issues… like the $37 trillion national debt… I thought this was insane. I wondered if there was any way I could help solve it. And with this administration, I saw an opportunity. Naturally, when the chance arose, I volunteered.”
President Donald Trump reacted to the assault shortly after it was reported in August, calling DC crime “totally out of control.”
“Local ‘youths’ and gang members, some only 14, 15, and 16 years old, are randomly attacking, mugging, maiming, and shooting innocent citizens, at the same time knowing that they will be almost immediately released,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“They are not afraid of Law Enforcement because they know nothing ever happens to them, but it’s going to happen now!”
