U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley owes the general public and her constituents a full clarification for why she signed a since-retracted letter from House progressives calling on President Biden to have interaction in diplomacy with Russia.
The letter – which sparked an embarrassing nationwide backlash simply two weeks earlier than midterms – was inked by Pressley and 29 different lawmakers calling on Biden to speak to Vladimir Putin to attempt to finish the Ukraine conflict.
Several lawmakers who signed the letter have since disavowed it however the Massachusetts Democrat solely launched a press release saying she is going to “always prioritize diplomacy as a route to peace and safety.”
“While I had no control over or insight into the timing of the release of this letter, which was originally drafted much earlier this year, the timing and resulting confusion, given Republicans and others actively seeking to undermine the Ukrainian cause, is deeply unfortunate,” she mentioned.
That’s it, blame Republicans.
Pressley on Tuesday wouldn’t reply questions from the Herald in regards to the letter and her workplace initially didn’t reply to an inquiry.
So it’s unclear when she signed off on the letter, which precipitated an inside uproar amongst Democrats. The cut up included one inside the Massachusetts congressional delegation.
Rep. Jake Auchincloss (D-Mass.) referred to as the letter “an olive branch to a war criminal who’s losing the war.”
The Congressional Progressive Caucus and chair Rep. Pramila Jayapal introduced on Tuesday it was withdrawing the letter, which had already been delivered to the White House.
“The letter was drafted several months ago, but unfortunately was released by staff without vetting,” the CPC mentioned in a press release.
Sources advised Politico that a lot of lawmakers weren’t advised the letter was being despatched.
“Timing in diplomacy is everything. I signed this letter on June 30, but a lot has changed since then. I wouldn’t sign it today,” mentioned Rep. Sara Jacobs (D-Calif.).
But at the very least one progressive Democrat is standing by the letter.
“All the letter said is that we, at the same time that we stand with Ukraine, need to make sure that we’re reducing the risk for nuclear war, that we’re engaging in talks with the Russians to make sure that the conflict doesn’t escalate,” Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) advised CNN.
Pressley, one of many “Squad” members led by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, has taken a lot of controversial stances throughout her tenure within the delegation. She usually doesn’t make herself accessible for interviews until they’re layups from pleasant media.
But the general public now deserves full solutions from Pressley, not simply temporary statements.
Source: www.bostonherald.com”