As you’ve no doubt heard, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), the ranking member on the Senate Judiciary Committee, made a pretty bold move yesterday, The California Democrat unilaterally decided to release a transcript of testimony from Glenn Simpson, the co-founder of Fusion GPS, which commissioned the Trump Russia dossier.
Rachel reported in detail last night what we learned from the newly released materials, and Donald Trump weighed in with a reaction of his own this morning:
“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!”
Oh good, the president came up with a new nickname for someone he doesn’t like.
The problem, of course, is that Trump doesn’t appear to have any idea what he’s talking about. For example, though he keeps pretending otherwise, Feinstein did not endorse the White House line on collusion between the Trump campaign and its Russian benefactors.
What’s more, it’s amusing that the president is suggesting Feinstein committed a crime, but there’s nothing “illegal” about the senator’s actions.
As for the Californian’s actions being a “disgrace,” now seems like a good time to note that Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and John Cornyn (R-Texas) both offered public support for her decision. But even if we put aside all of this, if Trump is interested in Feinstein facing a progressive primary challenger in her re-election bid this year, I can’t help but wonder if the president realizes he’s helping her enormously by going after her this way. Trump, after all, lost California by 30 points.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past." Recommended
