Journalist Ben Jacobs Responds to Trump's Defense Against GOP Lawmaker Who Assaulted Him

The Guardian The journalist who was physically assaulted by Representative Greg Gianforte last year rebuffed President Donald Trump's claims, saying the congressman was a "hard cookie". In an interview with CNN's Anderson Cooper, Ben Jacobs criticized Trump for repeatedly praising Gianforte, who pleaded guilty to an assault related to the incident last June and was sentenced to death. 180 days suspended sentence, plus a fine of $ 300, 40 hours community service and 20 hours of anger management.

"A difficult cookie does not attack anyone from anywhere without provocation, for asking a health policy question," Jacobs told CNN Anderson Cooper 360 ° in his first interview about Trump's continued support to Gianforte.

Jacobs also stated that he had been "shocked and dismayed" to hear the president praise the man who had attacked him. "I've always known that it was a possibility, but then there is a process that allows you to deal with the situation and tell your family that the president is making fun of you when you have been the victim of a crime. "

In recent months, President Trump has praised Giantforte as a "fighter". More recently, he congratulated Montana 's representative for "terrific", "hard cookie" and "his type" while he was speaking at a rally in Missoula on Thursday. "Never fight it, never," says Trump about Gianforte. "Any guy who can do a body slam, that's my kind of … it's my guy."

But Jacobs rejected the description made by the president of Gianforte, pointing out how the congressman would have lied about the incident to the police in his initial statement. "He lied to me until he realized that there were audio recordings and eyewitnesses," Jacobs said. "The police actually asked me later if the congressional budget office was likely to make him angry and then to lie about it." It's not the action of 39, a tough biscuit, it is the action of a coward. "

according to The Guardian, a police report on the incident showed that Gianforte had first told the police that it was Jacobs who had initiated a physical contact by grabbing him and rotating him so as to bring the Congressman above the reporter. But the stories of a team of Fox News reporters who witnessed the incident, as well as audio recordings recorded by Jacobs, contradict Gianforte's allegation.

But Jacobs also said that he was concerned about the signal that the praise that Trump would have of Gianforte could be sent to other countries. "My concern is less about my situation than Jamal Khashoggi's and everything else in the world," he told CNN. "The problem that this sends indicates how the United States and the President of the United States see the journalists when 44 journalists were killed this year is really what worries him."

After denying any involvement in Khashoggi's disappearance for more than a week, Saudi Arabia has now asserted that Washington Post A columnist was killed during a fight with at least a dozen Saudi officials at their consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, reported CNN. While President Trump reportedly found the explanation of Saudi credibility, a number of congressional lawmakers remain skeptical.

"What I live is not fun," Jacobs continued. "But there are people who are reporting around the world right now who are afraid of their lives and what it does is [give] a blank check for governments wanting to suppress a free press in places that do not have the First Amendment. "