5 Most Shocking Details From Bombshell John Fetterman Exposé
Intelligencer on Friday published a lengthy story detailing the concerns of current and former staffers of Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA).
Fetterman’s office has seen a noticeable turnover in recent months. In a February report from The Intercept, staffers cited his comments on the the war in Gaza and his relationships with Republicans, as some of the biggest reasons staff has left at a high rate. Friday’s piece chronicled a supposed shift in Fetterman’s behavior from the time he was elected to now — as seen by those around him.
Here are five of the most shocking details revealed in the report.
1. Fetterman Allegedly Walked into Traffic and Was Almost Hit by a Car
In February 2023, Fetterman joined other members of the Senate for a caucus retreat at the Library of Congress. His behavior at the retreat was concerning enough to compel someone there to reach out to a staffer; and Fetterman was supposedly seen later that day walking into the road. The report continued:
Fetterman, fresh off a hard-fought victory in the cycle’s marquee race, should have been riding high. Only he wasn’t. A staffer recalled getting a text from a person at the retreat asking if their boss was okay. Fetterman was sitting at a table by himself, slowly sipping a Coke and refusing to talk with anybody. Later that day, another staffer heard an alarming report from a journalist: Fetterman had just walked, obliviously, into the road and was nearly struck by a car.
A staffer then took Fetterman to George Washington University Hospital, where it was determined he was suffering from severe dehydration.
2. Fetterman’s Wife Tearfully Pleaded for Him to Alter His Stance on Gaza
Not long after Hamas’ attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, Fetterman began to openly express his unconditional support for the country. Some of his staffers anonymously published a letter calling his support for Israel a “gutting betrayal.” His wife was also displeased:
In early November, just weeks after the attack, Gisele arrived at her husband’s Senate office and, according to a staffer present, they got into a heated argument.
“They are bombing refugee camps. How can you support this?” the staffer recalled her saying with tears in her eyes.
“That’s all propaganda,” Fetterman replied.
Later, a still visibly upset Gisele pulled the staffer aside. She asked him if members of Fetterman’s team were pushing him to take these stances for political reasons. The staffer told her that the opposite was true: Many of them were as upset as she was. “If you’re pushing back on this, there’s no hope,” the staffer recalled her saying. “This is horrible news.”
A few days later, Gisele texted a different staffer: “I am at breaking point and I can’t co-sign this any longer. Id love some help in language to separate myself from this. Can anyone help me?”
3. Fetterman Began to Neglect His Strict Medical Regimen Following a Mental Health Episode
Not long after Fetterman allegedly walked into the road in February 2023, he was admitted into Walter Reed Hospital. At the end of his six-week stay, his mental health dramatically improved and doctors developed a comprehensive plan that included medication and regular blood checks. That plan, staffers said, seemed to have been abandoned that fall — right around the time Gaza became a focal point:
The endless fights over Israel, which saw Fetterman draw further into himself, coincided with setbacks in his recovery regimen. At that point, Fetterman hadn’t gotten his blood drawn for months, despite bloodwork being a crucial component of the plan. In the final weeks of 2023, a Senate physician called the office, according to a staffer, to say that he had seen Fetterman “acting bizarrely” near the underground trolleys that shuttle people between the Capitol and nearby office buildings. He had witnessed Fetterman, seemingly unaware of his surroundings, walk directly into a group of people, nearly bowling them over.
4. Staffers Wouldn’t Let Anyone See Fetterman Some Days for Fear of Him Saying “Really Fucked-Up Shit”
In text chats, Fetterman’s behavior would sometimes be described as “manic.” The senator reportedly had good days and bad days; and on those bad days, staffers would essentially isolate Fetterman out of fear of what he might say. His near-constant use of social media, they added, only amplified the issue:
One staffer told me there would be entire days when they couldn’t let anyone outside the office be around him because he was in “some sort of state” and might say “really fucked-up shit to constituents.” Sometimes he would just “shut down,” according to one former staffer. He was saying “unhinged shit,” according to one text, and spending more time on social media. Stern wrote to the group that it seemed to him like Fetterman was “spiraling” and that his constant “doomscrolling” — “I think he’s on essentially all day now?” — would only make things worse.
5. Fetterman Said “Kill Them All” During Talks About War in Gaza
Months into the war in Gaza, Fetterman met with Jeremy Ben-Ami of the Jewish organization J Street. During their meeting, Fetterman said, “You can’t reform a carton of sour milk,” in reference to Palestinians, and also explained why he didn’t believe in a two-state solution in the region:
“You can’t reform a carton of sour milk,” Fetterman told Ben-Ami, according to notes from the meeting, referring to the Palestinians. Fetterman said he did not believe in a two-state solution and claimed he had never met an Arab person who would condemn Hamas. “Correction,” the notes from the meeting stated. “Only a single Arab he has met with that staff was present for wouldn’t outright condemn Hamas.”
Fetterman went on to make statements that shocked people. In opposing a cease-fire, he said, “Let’s get back to killing.” A person who heard the conversation told me, “He said, ‘Kill them all.'” In a statement, Fetterman denied the account, adding, “Any reference to killing was solely about Hamas, and I do support the destruction of that organization, down to its last member.”
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