The reporter cut in and asked Ernst why she wouldn’t answer the question.

“Are you concerned about retribution?” the reporter asked.

“No, I am not,” Ernst said. “What I am saying, though, is that we have a picture that’s painted by media and we don’t know what’s accurate or not, so what I would rely on is the information that’s coming forward both through the whistleblower report through any complaint that has been given and through the transcript, all of that will go through Senate Intelligence. They will sort through that in a bipartisan fashion without media interdiction, they will go through that … ”

The reporter then said: “We are not asking you to rule on it, we’re just asking you if the ask itself is appropriate?”

At that point Ernst said, “Let’s move on,” turned around, and walked away from the reporter. She started greeting Iowans gathered at the scene while the reporter continued to ask her questions.