‘You Just Admitted There’s No Evidence’: Dana Bash Shuts Down Ramaswamy for Claiming Biden Took $5 Million Bribe

After any political debate, it’s customary for news outlets to do some fact-checking, sometimes on the spot. During CNN’s post-debate coverage, anchor Dana Bash caught up with GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy and confronted him with facts.

Ramaswamy had quite a newsworthy night – maybe not the way he would have wanted to be covered or exactly the way he wanted to be covered, with many fiery moments while he was on the debate stage. Bash, who dove right in with “Where do I even start?” started by asking Ramaswamy about why he attacked everyone including the Republican National Committee and NBC, which aired the debate that gave him a lot of camera time. He responded with his frustration with his party and then launched into the fantastical theory that President Joe Biden was not going to be the Democratic candidate in 2024:

I think that what I am doing in this race is speaking truth, 360 degrees. I’ve been very critical of the Democratic Party. If you listen to my final words on stage, I think that it’s important that the Democrat Party be honest about who the nominee is going to be. I think we all quietly acknowledge it’s very unlikely to be Joe Biden. Be honest with the people now. But I would say the same to the media.

Bash pushed him, which led to more real-time fact-checking after CNN fact-checked in the previous segment with Daniel Dale:

Ramaswamy: I’m happy to talk about my point about Biden. I just think it’s true that Biden is not going to be the nominee. I think that most people in the Democratic Party will quietly acknowledge it. Just say it out loud and you build trust with the people. But what I’m saying is, as a Republican candidate, I can’t just call out Democrats on their corruption. I’ve called out the Hunter Biden corruption from Ukraine and the $5 million bribe. And I will continue to do that.

Bash: There’s no evidence to support–

Ramaswamy: But I’ll call it on the Republican Party as well.

Bash: There’s no evidence to support the $5–

Ramaswamy: To support that he was paid a $5 million bribe from Burisma?

Bash: No. We just did a fact-check.

Ramaswamy: Well, if he was, that’s corruption.

Bash: Okay, we just… But if he was… But I just want, you’re making an allegation where there’s no evidence to back that up.

Ramaswamy: There’s literally–

Bash: Our Daniel Dale literally just talked about this on the air.

Ramaswamy: Absolutely. There’s a lot of circumstantial evidence and testimonial evidence to suggest it. You have U.S. senators saying they’ve received information. The investigations are proceeding as we speak, but that is corruption in the Democratic Party that I have called out and I think deserves to be called out in the Republican Party as well.

Bash: But you just admitted there’s no evidence.

Ramaswamy: No, I did not admit there’s a– there’s absolutely evidence.

Bash: There’s circumstantial evidence. But, it’s $5 million.

Ramaswamy: But well, look, [Sen.] Chuck Grassley! Ask Chuck Grassley for the actual recordings that are actually turned over from Burisma.

Bash: We have them. Nobody has seen it.

Watch the video above via CNN.