A report claiming President Donald Trump told his ex-lawyer Michael Cohen to lie about the timeline of talks on a Trump Tower Moscow project “bruised” the First Amendment, Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., said Sunday.
In an interview on CBS News’ “Face The Nation,” Kennedy said the BuzzFeed News report was “embarrassing.”
“I think the First Amendment was bruised,” he said.
"What surprised me was not that somebody made a mistake, intentional or not, but it ... was astonishing to me that so many folks didn't stop and say, 'Hey, you know, let's think about this. Could this be true? Who are the sources? Had these particular reporters had problems before?'
"It was almost as if it was some of the reporting was not reporting. It was wishful thinking, and I think that hurts the First Amendment."
Kennedy said he also hopes that William Barr, if confirmed as the new Attorney General, will release to the public the final report of special counsel Robert Mueller.
"I think they ought to release Mueller's report for a couple of reasons,” he said. “Number one, it's going to leak anyway. Washington D.C. leaks like the Titanic. And number two, I think the American people have a right to know.”
On the border wall funding impasse that continues to fuel a partial government shutdown, Kennedy reiterated his belief that a final deal will have to include money for a wall.
"I talked to the president about this issue for about an hour last week,” he said. “And if you bring a plan to him that doesn't include a wall, it's dead as four o'clock."
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