There are no hard feelings, apparently, between Montana’s newest member of Congress and the reporter he allegedly body-slammed.
Greg Gianforte, the Republican who flew into a rage when asked a question about the GOP health care plan, apologized to journalist Ben Jacobs of Britain’s Guardian newspaper and agreed to enter a no-contest plea when he goes to court in the misdemeanor assault case on Monday.
On Wednesday, Gianforte issued a formal apology in which he took full responsibility for “body slamming” Jacobs after he asked him a question about the Republican health care policy.
In his letter, Gianforte described his physical response toward Jacobs as “unprofessional, unacceptable and unlawful.”
“As both a candidate for office and a public official, I should be held to a high standard in my interactions with the press and the public. My treatment of you did not meet that standard,” Gianforte’s letter said. “I had no right to respond the way I did to your legitimate question about health care policy. You were doing your job.”
Jacobs accepted Gianforte’s apology and said in a statement he hopes the incident encourages people to have more civil forms of discussion. “I have accepted Mr. Gianforte’s apology and his willingness to take responsibility for his actions and statement,” Jacobs said. “I hope the constructive resolution of this incident reinforces for all the importance of respecting the freedom of the press and the First Amendment and encourages more civil and thoughtful discourse in our country.”
As part of a settlement, Jacobs agreed not to sue the 56-year-old Republican and will not object to Gianforte’s no-contest plea to the misdemeanor charged stemming from the May 24 incident. Gianforte said he would donate $50,000 to the Committee to Protect Journalists.
If convicted, Gianforte could face a fine of $500 and up to six months in jail.
