Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) apologized to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) for releasing Fusion GPS co-founder Glenn Simpson’s testimony without giving the Iowa senator advance notice.
Sen. Feinstein told reporters on Wednesday, “I meant to tell him, and I didn’t have a chance to tell him, and that concerns me. I just got pressured, and I didn’t do it.”
The California Democrat rebuked Trump’s tweet suggesting that she broke the law by releasing Simpson’s testimony.
“I didn’t do anything illegal. … That transcript has become so abused that time has come for people to take a look at it,” Feinstein added.
Sen. Feinstein released Simpson’s testimony on Tuesday despite Grassley’s opposition. Simpson requested that the testimony be released in a New York Times op-ed.
Simpson’s lawyer Josh Levy argued that publication of the Trump dossier has led to someone’s death.
“It’s a voluntary interview, and in addition to that he wants to be very careful to protect his sources. Somebody’s already been killed as a result of the publication of this dossier and no harm should come to anybody related to this honest work,” Leavy revealed.
Feinstein said in a statement, “The American people deserve the opportunity to see what he said and judge for themselves. The innuendo and misinformation circulating about the transcript are part of a deeply troubling effort to undermine the investigation into potential collusion and obstruction of justice.”
President Donald Trump shot back at Sen. Feinstein, labeling her, “Sneaky Dianne Feinstein.”
President Trump tweeted on Wednesday, “The fact that Sneaky Dianne Feinstein, who has on numerous occasions stated that collusion between Trump/Russia has not been found, would release testimony in such an underhanded and possibly illegal way, totally without authorization, is a disgrace. Must have tough Primary!”
The president added, “The single greatest Witch Hunt in American history continues. There was no collusion, everybody including the Dems knows there was no collusion, & yet on and on it goes. Russia & the world is laughing at the stupidity they are witnessing. Republicans should finally take control!”