In the wake of reports that Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein‘s comments about secretly recording President Donald Trump were made in jest, New York Times reporter Adam Goldman is defending his reporting.

Speaking to CNN’s Jake Tapper on Friday, Goldman — one of the two reporters who wrote the Times bombshell — said as far as he was concerned, it was not a flippant remark.

“You know, my understanding of what happened is that this wasn’t a flippant remark,” Goldman said. “And he was, in fact, very serious. And the circumstances in which it was described to me are different now than what’s being put out I guess by the government.”

He continued on: “But, you know, it’s important that your listeners understand something. That as I was pursuing this story for a very long time, people were reluctant to talk about it, because of the gravity of the story. There was concern that if it got out, that, you know, Rosenstein had wanted to actually, you know, wear a wire, and suggested Andy McCabe, the acting director at the time wear a wire, that Rob might get fired. People were sincerely concerned about this. Not because he made a flip remark. Because of the seriousness surrounding the remark.”

The Times reporter also defended publishing the story despite the potential political fallout.

“In this moment, we realize when we write these stories they can become politically toxic, but I felt my job as a reporter and the way I’ve always conducted myself is I just follow the facts,” Goldman told Tapper. “And when I reach a certain comfort level, I publish the story. You know, I think my main concern in this story was just trying to be fair to all of the parties involved.”

Watch above, via CNN.

[image via screengrab]

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