Mitch McConnell's chief of staff evaded a reporter who was inquiring about the Kentucky senator's location. Independent journalist Nicholas Ballasy posted a video in which he confronts Terry Carmack, a long-time aide to the former Senate majority leader, who has been instrumental in maintaining the silence from McConnell's team during his extended absence.
In a video shared by Ballasy on Tuesday evening, the journalist trails Carmack through the Capitol corridors, relentlessly questioning him about the 84-year-old McConnell.
“Sir is Senator McConnell going to put out a video?” Ballasy inquires. “Why hasn’t he done that yet?” Carmack, who earns an annual salary of $226,000 as per Daily Beast, gazes straight ahead.
“Did he auto-pen the document, the letter that was sent out?” Ballasy pressed on. “Was that autopen or did he actually sign it, sir? Can you address the situation at all about his condition?”
A representative for the senator did not reply to a request for comment from the Daily Beast concerning Carmack's refusal to answer questions.
Terry Carmack evades question on Mitch McConnell's health: Netizens fume
Meanwhile, several netizens reacted to the post, with one saying: “Wow! A Senator's Chief of Staff salary is reportedly $226,850 when Mitch McConnell's salary is only $174,000 - and if he was majority leader, his salary would be $193,400. What dark money account is paying for Mitch McConnell staff?”
“At this point I believe McConnel has been dead a while now,” another said.
“They're not going to release anything. GO DO IT YOURSELF. Reporting matters,” a third person commented, while the fourth one blasted Carmack, saying: “Utterly treasonous and criminal that they will not answer these questions.”
Mitch McConnell health and his staff
McConnell's aides have avoided media inquiries for nearly seven weeks since their leader was admitted to George Washington University Hospital, following revelations from a June 14 911 call indicating he had experienced a heart attack, was unconscious, and had received CPR.
Although the senator's office has asserted that McConnell is still recovering and is "working closely with his staff," they declined to confirm on Friday whether a letter sent to President Donald Trump this week was personally signed by the absent Republican or generated by autopen.
The letter dated July 28, which bears McConnell's signature along with those of all members of Kentucky's congressional delegation, urged Trump to grant a request from Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear for a major disaster declaration in response to the severe flooding that has impacted the state.
Carmack is not the sole staff member evading reporters on Capitol Hill. Last month, McConnell’s communications director, Stephanie Penn, was similarly approached by Ballasy.
Ballasy also reminded Penn, who earns an annual salary of $106,999, that the image shared by the Kentucky Republican’s team depicting a smiling McConnell in a hospital bed only intensified speculation.