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NEW YORK (AP) – Former Watergate Detective Carl Bernstein took to Twitter to list the names of 21 Republican senators who he says have “repeatedly expressed contempt” for Donald Trump and his suitability to be president.
Bernstein’s post was condemned Monday by some of those involved. It was a breathtaking modern take on journalism from the former Washington Post reporter who, along with his partner Bob Woodward in the 1970s, wrote scoops that led to President Richard Nixon’s resignation.
Bernstein said he was not violating any confidentiality commitments by listing senators. He said he learned about politicians’ supposed private feelings through conversations with some of their colleagues, staff, lobbyists and White House assistants.
“With few exceptions, their cowardly public silence has helped allow Trump’s most serious conduct – including undermining and discrediting the US electoral system,” he tweeted on Sunday evening.
Bernstein, a CNN political analyst, declined a request to talk about his publications.
Many Washington reporters have spoken of lawmakers who have privately expressed reservations about Trump but rarely attached names to their stories. Bernstein said he believed several of the Republicans on his list were privately happy with Democrat Joe Biden’s victory.
Michael Zona, a spokesperson for Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley, who was on Bernstein’s list, said the characterization was wrong.
“Sen. Grassley has been a strong supporter of the President and at the same time has made no secret when he disagrees with the President, ”Zona said. “There is no difference between what Senator Grassley says publicly and in private. Washington journalists might be advised to reconsider baseless second and third hand rumor trafficking. It can restore some lost credibility. “
Ohio Senator Rob Portman “has never spoken to Mr. Bernstein and we don’t know where he got his false information from,” said Emily Benavides, spokesperson for the senator.
Portman, in a column written for the Cincinnati Enquirer on Monday, called on Trump to begin cooperating with President-elect Biden on a transition.
There was no article on CNN’s website on Bernstein’s list Monday. The veteran reporter appeared on CNN’s “New Day” Friday and named 15 of the 21 senators he tweeted about two days later.
Roy Gutterman, a professor at Syracuse University specializing in the law and ethics of journalism, said Bernstein’s approach was unusual and noted the journalist’s frequent criticism of Trump.
“I don’t know if what he did today would fit the pattern of what he staked his reputation on, which was tough investigative reporting,” Gutterman said.
It was no surprise to find Utah Senator Mitt Romney on Bernstein’s list. Romney said last week of pressure from Trump to overturn the election results that it was “hard to imagine worse, more undemocratic action from a sitting US president.”
“The senator’s views on the president are well known to the public,” spokeswoman Liz Johnson said.
In a statement, a spokesperson for Indiana Senator Todd Young said Bernstein’s “unfounded rumors” did not deserve a response and that Young had an excellent working relationship with Trump.
Meanwhile, Sean Smith, communications director for South Carolina Senator Tim Scott, said his boss “had never met, spoken or considered interacting with Mr. Bernstein, so no one should give up. weight to the baseless accusations of someone who clearly has an ax to grind with the president.
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