In case you missed it, Tuesday was like a late Christmas for The Resistance, as Sen. Dianne Feinstein decided to publish on her website a transcript of Fusion GPS co-founder Glenn Simpson’s testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee — a document that committee chair Chuck Grassley did not want to be released, calling it “confounding” that Feinstein would release a transcript of the panel’s interview with Simpson in the middle of an ongoing investigation.
The American people deserve the opportunity to see the transcript of the Judiciary Committee’s interview with Fusion GPS founder Glenn Simpson. Read it for yourself: https://t.co/yEaJLHpGdG
— Sen Dianne Feinstein (@SenFeinstein) January 9, 2018
Like we said, liberals were ecstatic:
Diane Feinstein is a fucking hero.
That’s all.
We need MORE of this Democrats!— Amy Siskind (@Amy_Siskind) January 9, 2018
Why did she suddenly release the transcripts against the wishes of the committee chair? Apparently, she just felt like it.
Feinstein smiles while stepping into an elevator as reporters ask about her unilaterally publishing Fusion GPS transcript. “I just decided to do it,” she says.
— Alice Ollstein (@AliceOllstein) January 9, 2018
That was Tuesday, though. On Wednesday, Feinstein’s story changed a bit, and she didn’t just decide to do it — she was pressured.
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
She “just got pressured”?
Who “pressured” Feinstein? https://t.co/SvRhuHCYGl
— Joel B. Pollak (@joelpollak) January 10, 2018
"Pressured"? WHO pressured her? Staff? Simpson? Democrats? Former Obama officials? FBI? Seems an important question. https://t.co/WbFy8jANc8
— Kimberley Strassel (@KimStrassel) January 10, 2018
Wait. She was "pressured?" By whom? That seems like a pretty huge detail. Was it a donor? A party boss? Federal officials? Who "pressured" her? https://t.co/AcVxOP0TYS
— Sean Davis (@seanmdav) January 10, 2018
What did Feinstein say when you asked her who "pressured" her to release the transcript, @mkraju? Surely you asked her that.
— Sean Davis (@seanmdav) January 10, 2018
Who is pressuring the ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee to release transcripts? And why is that pressure so substantial that she released it before even informing the Chairman of the committee? https://t.co/CpFJ7zF2OH
— James Hasson (@JamesHasson20) January 10, 2018
Who did a sitting U.S. Senator get pressured from to the point where she had no choice? https://t.co/loARNyRJhi
— Jon Turke (@JonTurke) January 10, 2018
Uh huh https://t.co/qK7O9dqdYb
— Melissa Mackenzie ? (@MelissaTweets) January 10, 2018
LOLLLLLLLL https://t.co/kJnlI3Hfcm
— Comfortably Smug (@ComfortablySmug) January 10, 2018
Nobody believes this https://t.co/zeNXaT4g7D
— Meech (@michi83) January 10, 2018
"I didn’t have a chance to tell him, and that concerns me,”
“I just got pressured, and I didn’t do it.”WTF? Didn’t have a chance and It concerns her? Pressured? Well that clears it right up. https://t.co/ZyY9gvebFi
— Jack (@MrBeagleman) January 10, 2018
This seems like a huge deal: who pressured the ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee so strongly that she dumped hundreds of pages of highly sensitive testimonial documents without even informing the Chairman? Surely @mkraju asked that key follow-up question, riiight? https://t.co/tHK4fPxrro
— Jerry Dunleavy (@JerryDunleavy) January 10, 2018
So if you're a journalist, you surely asked who pressured her, right? https://t.co/tV1HNXIQOU
— Eli Sowry (@UnrealElijah) January 10, 2018
So on Tuesday, she just decided to publish the transcripts on her website to the delight of The Resistance, but on Wednesday she said she was pressured to release them before she could even inform the committee chairman of what she was doing.
So, yeah … who put that amount of pressure on the senator?
1) no, you weren't pressured. It was done like this on purpose, your choice. 2) you're not sorry. 3) this statement only serves as attempt to avoid consequences. I hope you fail. https://t.co/DVg8fMSUDy
— name redacted (@nameredacted5) January 10, 2018
Update:
Just short of an hour after his first tweet, CNN’s Manu Raju posted this follow-up:
Asked who pressured her, Feinstein says: "I wasn't pressured" without reconciling her two statements. Her office later said she misspoke and wasn't pressured to release transcript.
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) January 10, 2018
Oh.
Related:
BOOM: Byron York explains the Fusion GPS story and predicts the next big question
