The senator said he didn’t do anything wrong, but he pleaded guilty after being arrested for solicitation of sex in a Minneapolis airport men’s room.
He held a news conference to say he intends to resign by the last day of September, yet has just indicated he may not resign.
Last night, we decided to downplay the message he is “reconsidering” after his own press secretary admitted during a live interview on KREM-2 News at 6 the senator stands little chance of having his “guilty” plea overturned.
And after the same press secretary admitted even the senator’s own staff expects him to step down by September 30th.
Those statements took the wind out of the senator’s “reconsideration” statement and put qualifications on the question of reconsidering itself.
As for a Senate Ethics Committee investigation into the senator… not likely, since it has never investigated a lawmaker who only committed a misdemeanor.
So, instead of leading with the words the Idaho senator was “reconsidering his resignation,” KREM-2 news took a more qualified approach to say all that hinged on his lawyers efforts to get his guilty plea overturned.
In the news business, as in life, words mean something. Editorial meetings help define the intent behind the words.