Three times in a row yesterday, Sen. Joni Ernst dodged questions about whether it’s appropriate for a president to ask a foreign power to investigate a political rival.
After a round of questions from a CNN reporter looking for a “yes” or “no” answer from Ernst, the senator walked away and talked with a few Iowans who happened to be on scene.
“I’m going to pay attention to the Iowans here,” Ernst said, before the CNN video cut off.
Ernst’s first response to the reporter’s question was: “I think we are going to have to go back, just as I said last week, we’ll have to wait. All that information is going to have to go to Senate Intelligence.”
Ernst was regurgitating a talking point she used last week during a town hall in Templeton, Iowa. There, Ernst used the same line while talking to an audience member, and again while taking questions from reporters.
The reporter clarified she wanted to know whether asking a foreign power for help investigating an opponent was appropriate.
“We again, we don’t have the facts in front of us,” Ernst said. “And what we see pushed out through the media, we don’t know what is accurate at this point.”
The reporter interjected that she “didn’t ask if it was accurate — I’m asking you if it’s appropriate for a president to ask a foreign power to investigate his domestic political rival. Yes or no?”
Ernst replied: “I don’t know if we have that information in front of us, and I’ll just stick with what I said all along … ”
The reporter cut in and asked Ernst why she wouldn’t answer the question.
“Are you concerned about retribution?” the reporter asked.
“No, I am not,” Ernst said. “What I am saying, though, is that we have a picture that’s painted by media and we don’t know what’s accurate or not, so what I would rely on is the information that’s coming forward both through the whistleblower report through any complaint that has been given and through the transcript, all of that will go through Senate Intelligence. They will sort through that in a bipartisan fashion without media interdiction, they will go through that … ”
The reporter then said: “We are not asking you to rule on it, we’re just asking you if the ask itself is appropriate?”
At that point Ernst said, “Let’s move on,” turned around, and walked away from the reporter. She started greeting Iowans gathered at the scene while the reporter continued to ask her questions.
While Ernst said she doesn’t have enough information to answer the question, President Donald Trump said on national television last week, “China should start an investigation into the Bidens. Because what happened in China is just about as bad as what happened with Ukraine. So, I would say that [Ukrainian] President Zelensky, if it were me, I would recommend they start an investigation into the Bidens.”
By Paige Godden
Photo by Julie Fleming
Posted 10/9/19
39 Comments on "Joni Ernst Refuses To Condemn Soliciting Foreign Interference"
Joni Ernst is a complicit pos who refuses to answer a simple yes or no question- pretending she doesn’t have the information. YES YOU DO! You have the transcript of what was said and you have Trumps own words on several occasions- and the question wasn’t even specifically about DT- it could be any President. Iowa voters who let her get away with this are shameful!!
She should stick to pig butchery .
I wouldn’t give CNN the time of day. They are proving that they are Trump haters and will lie about anything. Good job Joni
Trump supports are thick as bricks. Cowards. Every single one of them.
Ernst is terrified that if she were to answer the question truthfully, the Occupant of the White House would unleash a week-long tweetstorm castigating her, making up lies about her, and ranting on about her haircut or her clothes or her husband and kids, and she hasn’t the courage of her convictions. Mitt Romney is the only “R” senator who is telling the truth. He also knows that January 2021 is liable to find Trump sitting in a jail cell somewhere.
Republicans are afraid of Trump. Why? Because Trump is very revengeful. We all see that. He’s the child that was given the wrong flavor lollipop, a piece of cake that was broken up, or other childish rants. He is always offensive. Never one to apologize because he always thinks he is right. Why? He is a mobster-hood.