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Trump Just 'New at This': As Comey Hearing Concludes, Paul Ryan Jumps To Defend President
Republican Speaker of the House argues president's effort to create "patronage relationship" should instead be viewed as behavior of a someone who simply didn't know any better
Jun 08, 2017
As former FBI Director James Comey offered scathing testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday, Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) went on the record to defend President Donald Trump and argued that what the director perceived as an attempt to create a "patronage relationship" should instead be viewed as the behavior of a president who just didn't know any better.
"The president's new at this," Ryan said. "He's new to government."
\u201cPaul Ryan says you can't blame Trump for any of this because he has no idea how to be President #seriously https://t.co/yUGjSb3IEL\u201d— Judd Legum (@Judd Legum) 1496942103
Ryan was pressed by reporters if lack of experience should excuse the behaviors documented in Comey's testimony.
"I'm not saying it's an acceptable excuse," Ryan responded. "It's just my observation."
Watch:
\u201c.@SpeakerRyan: "The president's new at this, he's new to government."\u201d— CSPAN (@CSPAN) 1496939017
Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) was among the unimpressed.
\u201cJust a fun fact for @SpeakerRyan: ignorance of the law is not a defense. https://t.co/zSLNEesv3M\u201d— Rep. Nadler (@Rep. Nadler) 1496938174
\u201cHe threw people out of the room. He asked for personal loyalty. Trump knew exactly what he was doing. It\u2019s called obstruction of justice. https://t.co/mgcBv0ji0i\u201d— Tom Perez (@Tom Perez) 1496946531
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As former FBI Director James Comey offered scathing testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday, Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) went on the record to defend President Donald Trump and argued that what the director perceived as an attempt to create a "patronage relationship" should instead be viewed as the behavior of a president who just didn't know any better.
"The president's new at this," Ryan said. "He's new to government."
\u201cPaul Ryan says you can't blame Trump for any of this because he has no idea how to be President #seriously https://t.co/yUGjSb3IEL\u201d— Judd Legum (@Judd Legum) 1496942103
Ryan was pressed by reporters if lack of experience should excuse the behaviors documented in Comey's testimony.
"I'm not saying it's an acceptable excuse," Ryan responded. "It's just my observation."
Watch:
\u201c.@SpeakerRyan: "The president's new at this, he's new to government."\u201d— CSPAN (@CSPAN) 1496939017
Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) was among the unimpressed.
\u201cJust a fun fact for @SpeakerRyan: ignorance of the law is not a defense. https://t.co/zSLNEesv3M\u201d— Rep. Nadler (@Rep. Nadler) 1496938174
\u201cHe threw people out of the room. He asked for personal loyalty. Trump knew exactly what he was doing. It\u2019s called obstruction of justice. https://t.co/mgcBv0ji0i\u201d— Tom Perez (@Tom Perez) 1496946531
As former FBI Director James Comey offered scathing testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday, Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) went on the record to defend President Donald Trump and argued that what the director perceived as an attempt to create a "patronage relationship" should instead be viewed as the behavior of a president who just didn't know any better.
"The president's new at this," Ryan said. "He's new to government."
\u201cPaul Ryan says you can't blame Trump for any of this because he has no idea how to be President #seriously https://t.co/yUGjSb3IEL\u201d— Judd Legum (@Judd Legum) 1496942103
Ryan was pressed by reporters if lack of experience should excuse the behaviors documented in Comey's testimony.
"I'm not saying it's an acceptable excuse," Ryan responded. "It's just my observation."
Watch:
\u201c.@SpeakerRyan: "The president's new at this, he's new to government."\u201d— CSPAN (@CSPAN) 1496939017
Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) was among the unimpressed.
\u201cJust a fun fact for @SpeakerRyan: ignorance of the law is not a defense. https://t.co/zSLNEesv3M\u201d— Rep. Nadler (@Rep. Nadler) 1496938174
\u201cHe threw people out of the room. He asked for personal loyalty. Trump knew exactly what he was doing. It\u2019s called obstruction of justice. https://t.co/mgcBv0ji0i\u201d— Tom Perez (@Tom Perez) 1496946531
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