GOP Rep Accuses Media of Falsely Reporting He Backs Trump Impeachment Inquiry
Rep. Mark Amodei of Nevada accused mainstream media outlets of falsely reporting he supports House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump.
The New York Times ran a story on Friday with the headline, “Mark Amodei Is First House Republican to Support Trump Impeachment Inquiry.”
The Times even tweeted out a graphic reflecting the congressman’s support.
The first Republican House member has announced support for the impeachment inquiry against President Trump: Representative Mark Amodei of Nevada
See the full list: https://t.co/nnYylNUBSA pic.twitter.com/7SUfyj48Sq
— The New York Times (@nytimes) September 27, 2019
The Nevada Independent headlined its article, “Amodei on Trump impeachment inquiry: ‘Let’s put it through the process and see what happens.'”
The article quoted the lawmaker — who is the only Republican on the Silver State’s congressional delegation — saying, “I’m a big fan of oversight, so let’s let the committees get to work and see where it goes.”
“Using government agencies to, if it’s proven, to put your finger on the scale of an election, I don’t think that’s right,” he added. “If it turns out that it’s something along those lines, then there’s a problem.”
Never-Trumper Bill Kristol celebrated the news, quoting Amodei saying, “Let the committees get to work and see where it goes … Using government agencies to, if it’s proven, to put your finger on the scale of an election, I don’t think that’s right.”
MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow and Democratic Coalition chairman Jon Cooper also trumpeted the development.
Amodei responded to the media frenzy caused by his comments with a tweet and a statement, saying, “I now have full appreciation of how the President feels,” presumably about fake news.
I now have a full appreciation of how the President feels. My full statement here: https://t.co/DhZV6DUztl
Have a nice weekend.
— RepMarkAmodei (@MarkAmodeiNV2) September 27, 2019
“In no way, shape, or form, did I indicate support for impeachment,” Amodei said in the statement.
Rather, he was trying to communicate his support for a resolution, which unanimously passed the House and Senate, calling for the whistleblower’s complaint to be transmitted to the respective bodies’ intelligence committees.
Amodei sought to drive the point home during an appearance on Fox News on Saturday.
“So the fact of the matter is, we voted along with everybody else in the House and Senate, to follow regular order to send the whistleblower thing to the two intelligence committees and then basically said ‘listen, let’s see what the committees find out,” Amodei told Fox host Neil Cavuto.
“There are lots of Democrats and Republicans who say we’re process people,” he added. “Let’s see what it says, and I don’t think that makes them pro or con anything.”
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