Bachmann aides shove reporters in flight from ethics questions

Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) was rushed out of a press conference on Tuesday afternoon after reporters began asking about an ethics investigation into her failed presidential campaign, leading to aides shoving reporters out of the way as they fled.

Photos of the reaction were published by the Minneapolis Star Tribune, which noted that Bachmann originally wanted to talk about how she believes Medicare pays doctors too much. But when reporters began asking about an ongoing ethics investigation into her presidential campaign's finances, all bets were off.

The way the Tribune describes it, Bachmann aides Deb Steiskal and Brian Gordon essentially filled the roles of football blocking backs for the embattled Republican, taking up either flank and pushing two reporters out of her way as they made a beeline for the exit. One of those reporters was a cameraman for the local Fox News affiliate, MyFox Twin Cities, whose video is embedded below.

The Office of Congressional Ethics is investigating whether Bachmann funneled money from her super PAC, MichelePAC, into consultant fees paid by her presidential campaign, which would violate campaign finance law. No charges have been announced.

"It looks like it's politically motivated and they're not true, and I'm working very closely with the people that are involved to make sure that we answer all of the questions and we get to the bottom of it," she told reporters Tuesday. "I'm thoroughly convinced that I'll be cleared."

It's not the first time Bachmann has responded to tough questions by running away. Confronted last July by CNN cameras and reporter Dana Bash's questions about Bachmann's allegations of Muslim infiltration at the State Department, the Minnesota Republican "nearly broke into a sprint" trying to get away, Raw Story's David Edwards wrote.

“The good news is I can walk pretty fast in heels,” Bash later told CNN's Anderson Cooper. “The bad news is Michele Bachmann can walk just as fast. And she proved to be pretty adept at not only avoiding my questions, but talking enough that I could barely get any questions out.”

This video is from MyFox Twin Cities, aired Tuesday, April 9, 2013.

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Photo: Screenshot via MyFox Twin Cities.