Correspondent Confuses Which Black CNN Host She's Talking To

April 3rd, 2010 2:36 PM

Jeanne Meserve on Friday got her black CNN hosts confused.

While appearing on "Rick's List" to discuss the indictment of domestic terrorist Jamie Paulin-Ramirez, the CNN correspondent repeatedly called fill-in host T. J. Holmes "Don."

I guess she thought she was speaking to Don Lemon.

Apparently this has happened to Holmes and Lemon before.

But before we get there, here's the embarrassing moment in question (video embedded below the fold with transcript, h/t Hot Air):

T.J. HOLMES: We're getting some information in. It has to do with the woman Jihad Jane. A lot of people will remember this, this -- this woman who was arrested, accused of being some kind of a convert, an extremist. 
But have an update, not necessarily about her, but let's bring in Jeanne Meserve, about another American woman who is facing a terror charge. 
Hello to you. And, please, tell us what we're just getting. 
 
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Don (sic), we have heard about this woman before. She is Jamie Paulin-Ramirez. She's the young woman from Colorado who allegedly communicated with Jihad Jane on the Internet and traveled to Europe also. 
Today, a superseding indictment has been unsealed against her. In addition, she was arrested this afternoon in Philadelphia, after voluntarily flying to the United States from abroad, where she had been held. 
 
According to the Department of Justice, this superseding indictment charges that the two of these women, Jihad Jane and Jamie Ramirez, traveled to and around Europe to participate in the support of violent jihad. According to the indictment, Ramirez allegedly exchanged e- mail messages with LaRose during the summer of 2009 in which LaRose -- that's Jihad Jane -- invited Ramirez to join her in Europe to attend a training camp. 
 
Ramirez is charged with accepting that invitation and asking if she could bring along her minor child. In September -- on September 12 of 2009, the indictment says, Ramirez traveled to Europe with her child with the intent to live and train with jihadists. 
 
It says the day she arrived in Europe, the indictment alleges, she married an unindicted co-conspirator -- co-conspirator who she had never before met in person. Of course, what the government has alleged in this case is that terrorists were very interested in finding people who were -- who had American passports and could move around easily. And there was a lot of discussion in the Jihad Jane case about the possibility of people marrying these women to facilitate their travel. 
 
So, that's, I think, what is at -- they're talking about here when they talk about her marrying someone she had never met before. She is charged with one count of conspiracy to provide material support to terrorism, the maximum penalty, 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine -- Don (sic).
 
HOLMES: All right. Jeanne with the update for us -- Jeanne, thank you so much. 
 
MESERVE: You bet. 
 
HOLMES: We're going to turn now to our next list. You know, every day, we talk about -- and yes, I'm T.J. It's all right. We know. She knows who I am. It's OK. 

(LAUGHTER)  

Apparently, this isn't the first time folks have made this mistake. The website the Black Snob reported last January:

Some of his Facebook fans seem unable to tell the difference between Don "Sweet-Not-Sour" Lemon and TJ Holmes! TJ has been subbing for Rick Sanchez this past week, but somehow his praise wound up on Don's page.    

Well, you'd think Meserve would be better informed than Lemon's Facebook fans.

Apparently not.