Earlier this week, Senator Dianne Feinstein released some 315 pages of closed-door testimony by Fusion GPS founder Glenn Simpson before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Fusion GPS was the firm paid by Democrats to compile the dossier alleging ties between the Trump campaign and Russia.
Feinstein released the testimony without consulting Judiciary chairman Senator Charles Grassley, or any other Republicans on the committee, all of whom were understandably troubled by Feinstein’s action. Even liberals had reasons to raise an eyebrow about the move, as revealing extensive and previously unknown details about the Trump-Russia investigation could prove to helpful to those close to Trump and still under scrutiny either by Congress or Robert Mueller’s special counsel investigation into potential collusion with Russia. Feinstein later publicly apologized to Grassley for releasing the testimony.
FEINSTEIN says she’s sorry to Grassley for not giving him a headsup about the release of the Fusion GPS transcript. “I meant to tell him, and I didn’t have a chance to tell him, and that concerns me,” she told us. “I just got pressured, and I didn’t do it.”
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) January 10, 2018
A sitting U.S. senator was “pressured” to do this? By whom? That’s a pretty alarming admission, no? CNN’s Manu Raju followed up, and Feinstein recanted the remark about being pressured. And her office tried to clean it up even more later:
That’s not all. Feinstein also told NBC yesterday her decision, with potentially serious legal and national security ramifications, was regrettable in part because of a “bad cold”:
Feinstein to @MariannaNBCNews RE: releasing the Glenn Simpson transcript: “The one regret I have is that I should have spoke with Senator Grassley before. And I don’t make an excuse but I’ve had a bad cold and maybe that slowed down my mental facilities a little bit.”
— Frank Thorp V (@frankthorp) January 10, 2018
But wait, there’s more! She was asked about her “pressured” comment again today, and she denied ever saying it:
Just asked Feinstein about her comment yesterday about being “pressured” to release the Simpson transcript.
“I made no statement to that effect,” she said.
Me: but there are recordings of you saying you felt pressured
“I don’t believe there are. I don’t believe I said that.”
— Emma Loop (@LoopEmma) January 11, 2018
I don’t know what’s going on here, but even the most charitable explanations for Feinstein’s behavior are deeply concerning.
