Sen. Dianne Feinstein made a startling admission when asked why she released the Fusion GPS transcripts on Tuesday without first informing Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) ahead of time.

"I meant to tell him, and I didn't have a chance to tell him, and that concerns me," Feinstein told CNN Congressional correspondent Manu Raju, adding "I just got pressured, and I didn't do it."

FEINSTEIN says she’s sorry to Grassley for not giving him a headsup about the release of the Fusion GPS transcript. “I meant to tell him, and I didn’t have a chance to tell him, and that concerns me,” she told us. “I just got pressured, and I didn’t do it.” — Manu Raju (@mkraju) January 10, 2018

Which begs the question:

So then who "pressured" @SenFeinstein to release the transcript? https://t.co/8oEjOvb8nK — Nick Short 🇺🇸 (@PoliticalShort) January 10, 2018

When asked to elaborate, Feinstein walked back her statement, saying "I wasn't pressured," without any further comment. Her office later said she misspoke and that she wasn't pressured to release the transcript.

Asked who pressured her, Feinstein says: "I wasn't pressured" without reconciling her two statements. Her office later said she misspoke and wasn't pressured to release transcript. — Manu Raju (@mkraju) January 10, 2018

Senator Feinstein released transcripts of Fusion GPS co-founder Glenn Simpson's closed door testimony to the Senate Judiciary committee on Tuesday, infuriating Chairman Grassley. Simpson and fellow Fusion GPS co-founder Peter Fritsch penned an op-ed in the New York Times last week calling on congress to release the "full transcripts" of Simpson's testimony.

On Wednesday morning, President Trump tweeted "The fact that Sneaky Dianne Feinstein, who has on numerous occasions stated that collusion between Trump/Russia has not been found, would release testimony in such an underhanded and possibly illegal way, totally without authorization, is a disgrace."

The fact that Sneaky Dianne Feinstein, who has on numerous occasions stated that collusion between Trump/Russia has not been found, would release testimony in such an underhanded and possibly illegal way, totally without authorization, is a disgrace. Must have tough Primary! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 10, 2018

Feinstein hit back, saying "I didn't do anything illegal," adding "That transcript has become so abused that time has come for people to take a look at it."

Feinstein said in a statement, “The American people deserve the opportunity to see what he said and judge for themselves. The innuendo and misinformation circulating about the transcript are part of a deeply troubling effort to undermine the investigation into potential collusion and obstruction of justice.”

Trump later tweeted "The single greatest Witch Hunt in American history continues. There was no collusion, everybody including the Dems knows there was no collusion."

The single greatest Witch Hunt in American history continues. There was no collusion, everybody including the Dems knows there was no collusion, & yet on and on it goes. Russia & the world is laughing at the stupidity they are witnessing. Republicans should finally take control! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 10, 2018

If in fact Senator Feinstein was pressured to release the transcripts, it begs several questions; who pressured her, why now - less than a week after Fusion's NYT op-ed calling for the release, and why couldn't she pick up the phone and let Grassley know?