Dianne Feinstein Says A ‘Bad Cold’ May Have ‘Slowed Down’ Her Mental Faculties

Democratic California Sen. Dianne Feinstein suggested a “bad cold” may have impaired her mental faculties and caused her to release Fusion GPS founder Glenn Simpson’s testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee without telling committee chairman Chuck Grassley.

Feinstein published Simpson’s testimony on Tuesday, catching Republicans by surprise. Simpson’s testimony, taken during August of last year, covered his firm’s role in producing the infamous anti-Trump dossier for the Clinton campaign and Democratic National Committee.

Feinstein, 84, expressed regret on Wednesday for keeping Sen. Grassley in the dark, and suggested it was because of a “bad cold.”

“The one regret I have is that I should have spoke with Senator Grassley before,” she told NBC News. “And I don’t make an excuse but I’ve had a bad cold and maybe that slowed down my mental facilities [sic] a little bit.”

Grassley said Tuesday that Feinstein’s decision to abruptly publish the documents was “confounding” and said he expected the documents to be released “when we both agreed to release it.”