House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) carried out an eyebrow-raising demolition of CNN for its hypocrisy of cheering on the Justice Department’s indictment of President Trump while also employing serial liars and Deep State mainstays James Clapper and Andrew McCabe.
McCarthy was being questioned by CNN congressional reporter Lauren Fox when he said the “real concern” of House Republicans and Americans across the country was that “equal justice is not playing out here” when, instead, the justice system has been “weaponized.”
Holy moly @SpeakerMcCarthy just absolutely nuked CNN's Lauren Fox from orbit over CNN having Andrew McCabe while lecturing Trump about classified documents pic.twitter.com/RS9z4z5LoR
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) June 12, 2023
After asking Fox to confirm she was with CNN, McCarthy unloaded: “Okay. So. let’s talk about this even further because when somebody weaponizes government and they actually get removed from government — let’s take Andrew McCabe — okay”?
McCarthy wasn’t even able to finish citing McCabe as former deputy FBI director before Fox interacted to try and brush this away: “But this is a different case.”
The House Speaker asked her to let him finish, but she tried to use the word “different” as many times as possible to deflect:
This is a different case. This is a different set of circumstances, right? I mean, the former President is accused of misleading law enforcement, of a conspiracy of obstructing justice. That’s a different set of facts. Are you prepared to defend him as the former President and what other actions will the House take? In the House Judiciary Committee in terms of funding?
“Are you prepared to defend your — your network, CNN,” McCarthy asked.
When Fox wouldn’t answer, McCarthy torched Fox by saying she “can ask me any question you want, but I’m entitled to answer the question” and “[y]ou can’t put words in my mouth, even though your network can hire Andrew McCabe, who was fired from the FBI for leaking classified documents.”
Fox was unamused when he asked, “Did you remove him from your network? No, you continue to put him on to give judgment against President Trump.”
She tried to divert back to asking McCarthy whether his caucus would defund the FBI or Justice Department as retaliation, but the California Republican wasn’t going to fall into her trap.
Instead, McCarthy brought up another example of CNN’s collusion with the intelligence community in the hiring of former CIA Director James Clapper, who also lied to the American people and was part of the operation to influence the 2020 election by suppressing the public learning about Hunter Biden’s laptop (click “expand”):
MCCARTHY: You also hire Clapper. Clapper has come out publicly and —
FOX: — Mr. Speaker, what steps —
MCCARTHY: — I will —
FOX: — what steps is the House going to take in terms of, is there any effort to defund the FBI? Any effort to defund the Department of Justice after what you’ve seen over the last several days?
MCCARTHY: So, your network hires Clapper, who literally lied to the American public, one of 51 other individuals that had briefings and used it politically to tell the American public that a laptop was Russia [sic] collusion even though it had all this information about the Biden administration.
As Fox twice interjected by calling out to McCarthy with a tinge of bewilderment, the Speaker went in with a proverbial wrecking ball:
Are you prepared to get rid of those people from your network? Because my concern as a policymaker is that, when you weaponize government and now you’re weaponizing networks, that is wrong. So, we will take all of our power to make sure that the legal system in America gets the blinders back on and people are treated fairly. I have a real problem that your network actually pays people who did classified information and then lied to the American public to try to influence a presidential election and then you put them on your network to give opinion about a president[.]
The back-and-forth in the video ended with Fox lamenting McCarthy wasn’t answering her question about “what the House is prepared to do” while McCarthy insisted he was by raising “what your network has done” in also “weaponiz[ing]” the justice system.
To see the relevant transcript from June 12, click “expand.”
Press gaggle with Speaker Kevin McCarthy
June 12, 2023HOUSE SPEAKER KEVIN MCARTHY (R-CA): The idea of equal justice is not playing out here and, so, that’s a real concern to all Americans. So, as policymakers, as elected officials, we want to make sure it’s equal justice for all. We want to look at weaponization. Now, what — you’re with CNN, right?
LAUREN FOX: Yeah.
MCCARTHY: Okay. So. let’s talk about this even further because when somebody weaponizes government and they actually get removed from government — let’s take Andrew McCabe — okay — former deputy —
FOX: But this —
MCCARTHY: No.
FOX: — is a different case.
MCCARTHY: No, no. Let me answer the question.
FOX: This is a different case. This is a different set of circumstances, right? I mean, the former President is accused of misleading law enforcement, of a conspiracy of obstructing justice. That’s a different set of facts. Are you prepared to defend him as the former President and what other actions will the House take? In the House Judiciary Committee in terms of funding?
MCCARTHY: Are you prepared to defend your — your network, CNN —
FOX: I’m asking —
MCCARTHY: — that had —
FOX: — you a question, Mr. Speaker.
MCCARTHY: — I’m — I’m answering your question. You can ask me any question you want, but I’m entitled to answer the question, okay? You can’t put words in my mouth, even though your network can hire Andrew McCabe, who was fired from the FBI for leaking classified documents. Did you remove him from your network? No, you continue to put him on to give judgement against President Trump.
FOX: Mr. Speaker —
MCCARTHY: You also hire Clapper. Clapper has come out publicly and —
FOX: — Mr. Speaker, what steps —
MCCARTHY: — I will —
FOX: — what steps is the House going to take in terms of, is there any effort to defund the FBI? Any effort to defund the Department of Justice after what you’ve seen over the last several days?
MCCARTHY: So, your network hires Clapper, who literally lied to the American public, one of 51 other individuals that had briefings and used it politically to tell the American public that a laptop was Russia [sic] collusion even though it had all this information about the Biden administration. Are you prepared to get rid of those people from your network? Because my concern —
FOX: Speaker McCarthy —
MCCARTHY: — as a policymaker is that, when you weaponize government and now you’re weaponizing networks, that is wrong. So, we will take all of our power to make sure that the legal system in America gets the blinders back on and people are treated fairly. I have a real problem that your network actually pays people —
FOX: — Speaker McCarthy —
MCCARTHY: — who did classified information and then lied to the American public to try to influence a presidential election and then you put them on your network to give —
FOX: — but I’m asking —
MCCARTHY: — an opinion —
FOX: — a question about —
MCCARTHY: — about a president —
FOX: — the former President, Donald Trump.
MCCARTHY: — and I’m answering your — your question.
FOX: But you’re not answering what the House —
MCCARTHY: Oh, very clearly —
FOX: — what the House is prepared to do.
MCCARTHY: — because what your network has done has weaponized at the same time. I think equal justice is important.
