CNN’s Chris Wallace Roasts Jim Jordan: ‘Really Didn’t Score Any Points Against Democrats’ With Durham Hearing
CNN anchor Chris Wallace ridiculed Jim Jordan’s decision to call John Durham in for questioning, noting the hearing turned into a chaotic spectacle that did not “score any points” against Democrats.
Durham — the special counsel appointed by Trump Attorney General Bill Barr to investigate the origins and conduct of the Trump/Russia investigation — testified at a contentious House Judiciary Committee hearing Wednesday.
Durham’s report generated wildly disparate reactions in the conservative and non-conservative media and agreement from legal experts like Mediaite founder Dan Abrams that there was no “knockout punch” against the FBI, and most of the problems identified in it were remedied following an OIG report.
But lawmakers on both sides made clear they weren’t done litigating the issues in that report, and the hearing turned into a fireworks fire.
On Wednesday night’s edition of CNN Tonight, anchor Abby Phillip observed that Durham took heat from both sides of the aisle, and Wallace wondered what even was the point:
PHILLIP: You know what really stands out there to me, Chris, he is taking heat from Republicans and Democrats, which is really not, I think, what anybody expected at the end of this process.
WALLACE: Well, the question I have is why did Jim Jordan, the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, called him up. Because if he thought he was going to score points against Democrats, he really didn’t. Remember, Durham was appointed by Bill Barr during the Trump administration to investigate the investigators, basically to say, why did they spent all these years, as both the FBI and then the special counsel investigating the idea of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia, Russia, Russia, Russia, as the former president calls it. It was not.
You know, he spent four years. He brought three cases, one minor fellow and the FBI pleaded guilty. And the two big cases he brought to trial, both men were found not guilty. They were acquitted. So, it was not a terrifically successful enterprise, and, you know, not only heard the Democrats hammering him, but you also saw Matt Gaetz, a far right Republican, hammering as well. I don’t think it served any purpose for the Judiciary Committee. It sure didn’t help John Durham.
PHILLIP: Although, to his credit, he came, he took the questions, he took the criticism, and sometimes that’s really all we can ask of people, just to stand up for whatever they decided to do in the course of their work.
Watch above via CNN Tonight.
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