Wall Street Journal article
The Wall Street Journal, relying on sources who have seen the flight data recorder readout, reported that the pilots, upon experiencing uncommanded nose-down trim, used the 737’s stabilizer trim cutout switches. And while the 737 MAX 8 retains the manual trim wheels it has had from day one, it’s not known if they used these to re-trim the aircraft. The sources told the Journal that the pilots appeared to have reengaged the stabilizer trim cutout switches, which would have re-enabled the MCAS stall protection system.
The underline is mine. Why would a pilot reengage a failed system? If they wanted to control the stab trim after turning of the electric stab trim switches, why did they not use the manual trim wheel?