John Thune
Role at the time: U.S. senator from South Dakota and Senate majority leader, speaking to reporters in Atlanta
Statement summary
Capitol Beat reported that Senate Majority Leader John Thune, speaking with Collins in Atlanta, dismissed Democrats' attacks over Collins's reported connections to white supremacists. In his own words, Thune said that in any campaign there are a lot of allegations and that a lot of them turn out to be unfounded. According to the report, he also said Ossoff's focus on the issue was a "desperate attack" to draw attention away from his own voting record.
“In any campaign there are a lot of allegations, and a lot of them turn out to be unfounded”
Capitol Beat report, republished by Rough Draft Atlanta, on Senate Majority Leader John Thune's September 25 appearance with Collins in Atlanta, where Thune dismissed Democrats' attacks over Collins's reported connections to white supremacists.
Why we used this label
Relative to Collins's staffing and associations, Thune says a lot of campaign allegations turn out to be unfounded and, according to the report, calls Ossoff's focus on the issue a desperate attack, which defends Collins against the charge. He did not say which reports he considered unfounded, so the label rests on that general dismissal.