We used this tweet in a previous post, the one about House Intelligence Committee Chair Adam Schiff telling MSNBC last month that “we” have not spoken “directly” with the whistleblower, which flies in the face of a New York Times report saying the whistleblower gave Schiff’s committee a heads-up about the complaint before it was even filed. Here he is again in mid-September:

Rep. Schiff: "We have not spoken directly with the whistleblower. We would like to."https://t.co/MvEQohcyvQ — MSNBC (@MSNBC) September 17, 2019

"We" … "directly" … His parsing is downright Clintonian. — jon gabriel (@exjon) October 2, 2019

However, Daily Beast reporter and MSNBC contributor Sam Stein is getting a lot of flak for calling people hacks if they’re more concerned about Schiff lying, which Stein says he appeared to do.

Schiff did appear to lie here in previously saying that his office had not spoken directly with the whistleblower. But if you care more about this stuff than the actual substance of the whistleblower complaint than you’re being a hack. — Sam Stein (@samstein) October 2, 2019

If you care more about “this stuff….” Can we care about both? They’re pretty closely related.

You admit he lied right to your face and you’re gladly going to sit there and ask for more if it. pic.twitter.com/fqsxg6Jw2x — Stephen Miller (@redsteeze) October 2, 2019

He lied to your face and your response is to accuse other people of being hacks. https://t.co/UKreQc66aC — Chuck Ross (@ChuckRossDC) October 2, 2019

Shorter Daily Beast reporter: “Okay, Schiff lied to me. But anyone who cares about that is an idiot.” https://t.co/5rbMAFPE4A — Arthur Schwartz (@ArthurSchwartz) October 2, 2019

Sam… He literally lied to your face. If you can't hold him to account… Then why bother? https://t.co/bOInTuybuY — Pradheep J. Shanker (@Neoavatara) October 2, 2019

Why did he feel the need to lie? https://t.co/3GUx37Y5kq — The Reagan Battalion (@ReaganBattalion) October 2, 2019

I think we should care about both. The media is always more willing to excuse Democrats lying to the press. https://t.co/C2Mwx4cYXV — Erick Erickson (@EWErickson) October 2, 2019

What if I care about both things https://t.co/QRSxuULN4r — Jerry Dunleavy (@JerryDunleavy) October 2, 2019

(You can care about both) https://t.co/lNr2NXS98C — Peter J. Hasson (@peterjhasson) October 2, 2019

“A Congressman lied to the entire country but that’s okay because I hate the President more” is one heck of a journalistic standard https://t.co/M9We0SgXSF — Dan O'Donnell (@DanODonnellShow) October 2, 2019

What a biased hack. https://t.co/HXYmyhIp0D — Rob Eno (@Robeno) October 2, 2019

The best part of this "he lied, but…," aside from the thorough self-trashing of integrity, is that the "but" doesn't satisfy Sam's extremist fans in his timeline, as they have come to expect only one narrative. We probably won't see even a "but" again. https://t.co/NyAPkga5FC — Nathan Wurtzel (@NathanWurtzel) October 2, 2019

The transcript disagrees with the faux #WhistleblowerComplaint so your journalistic ethics drive you to disregard a key fact to credibility? https://t.co/6dyI9QCLAO — Col. Rob Maness ret. (@RobManess) October 2, 2019

Hold on – We should care about the substance of the "whistleblower" complaint and observe that it does not comport with the actual transcript that we've been able to read for ourselves AND Schiff being caught lying. Again.

Your job isn't to run interference for him. https://t.co/LuMO6yX7d0 — Cindy Cooper (@CindyCoops) October 2, 2019

We have the transcript. The complaint is moot. https://t.co/qMPhNgp9Rv — Mulder’s Yale Degree in Crack Addiction (@proteinwisdom) October 2, 2019

"If you care more about this stuff than the actual substance of Joe Biden's corrupt dealings you're being a hack" See how that works Sam https://t.co/yStupK8uS5 — Anna Timmer (@VeritasSola) October 2, 2019

I’m disappointed that this hasn’t been deleted, Sam. https://t.co/nQjKkRAFf6 — Moot Alligators ??? (@KMR31871) October 2, 2019

Shocked that you would say this Sam. Don’t lose your credibility at this critical time….retract this. https://t.co/xU1wkdDQQ5 — Nasty in California (@CarlsbadDreamin) October 2, 2019

This does you no favors fella. https://t.co/N5QO0QjG65 — 6EuropeanPups (@PleasantPups) October 2, 2019

Sam Stein UNDERSTANDS what it means . . . to be a hack. ? https://t.co/k5vIx7lhaP — Lynette (@lynette530) October 2, 2019

@samstein does appear to admit he was lied to but if you read between the lines, he’s telling you to suck a lemon if you care about it since orange man bad and all that jazz. And if you read the lines he’s calling you a hack. You suck lemons and you are hacks. #SpyGate ?? https://t.co/ksOD1a53gH — JewelryDistrict (@JewelryDistrict) October 2, 2019

If he lied about this what else is he lying about. That’s the problem. That man has no credibility https://t.co/qbLfwuKQry — PacerLabs (@PacerLabs) October 2, 2019

Related: