The media has been sharing only a portion of Sen. Ben Sasse’s statement on the whistleblower report which he reviewed last night and it’s left the impression that the Nebraska Republican singled out only Republicans.
CBS News’ Alan He, for example:
Senator Sasse (R-NE) after reading the whistleblower complaint: "…Republicans ought not to be rushing to circle the wagons to say there’s no there there when there’s obviously lots that’s very troubling there…" https://t.co/DSzdYHrJlB
— Alan He (@alanhe) September 25, 2019
And here’s CNN’s Jeff Zeleny:
NEW: After seeing whistleblower complaint tonight, @SenSasse says: "There are real troubling things here Republicans ought not just circle the wagons and Democrats ought not be using words like “impeach” before they knew anything about the actual substance."
— Jeff Zeleny (@jeffzeleny) September 25, 2019
Jonathan Martin, NYT:
A different tone from Sasse, who is up in '20 and has avoided raising Trump's ire in recent months https://t.co/qwP0N7Kssu
— Jonathan Martin (@jmartNYT) September 25, 2019
But this is just part of what the senator said. Here’s the full statement which cautions everyone, including Dems and the media, “should slow down”:
.@BenSasse just now on Capitol Hill: "Democrats ought not to be using the word impeach before they have the whistleblower complaint…Republicans ought not to be rushing to circle the wagons to say there’s no there there when there’s obviously lots that’s very troubling there." pic.twitter.com/0dakAyRTGP
— Johnny Verhovek (@JTHVerhovek) September 25, 2019
This partial quote is causing quite a stir. Here’s former Trump-enabler Mika Brzezinski:
Sasse stepping up…
— Mika Brzezinski (@morningmika) September 25, 2019
Failed presidential candidate Evan McMullin weighed in with this hot take:
A statement like this from Senator Sasse is a pretty good indication of just how bad the whistleblower complaint is.
And by bad, I mean good. https://t.co/Ohnb5Rnjdx
— Evan McMullin (@EvanMcMullin) September 25, 2019
And that earned him this smack down from Ben Sasse’s comms director, James Wegman:
Nothing here is “good,” you opportunistic grifter. @BenSasse said everyone needs to slow down: Democrats shouldn’t rush to impeachment, Republicans shouldn’t rush to circle the wagons, and the Senate should work slowly and deliberately. https://t.co/65skG8N8b3 pic.twitter.com/gpf4GpOw6A
— James Wegmann (@jameswegmann) September 26, 2019
Just take the L, Egg McMuffin, and leave us alone.
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