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Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) and CNN’s Jim Acosta engaged in a testy debate over Donald Trump’s recent identification of Reps. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Adam Schiff (D-CA) as the “enemy form within” on Tuesday that saw Donalds ask Acosta if he was going to let him answer the anchor’s question at one point.

Acosta kicked off the discussion by inquiring if Donalds also considered Schiff and Pelosi to be the enemy.

“I know that Adam Schiff, when he was chairman of the Intelligence Committee, was leaking information to the press that was classified information, supposed to be held in the SCIF. This is the reason why then-Speaker [Kevin] McCarthy kicked Adam Schiff off of the Intelligence Committee, because he abused his purposes for political reasons,” began Donalds, who called that “a very dangerous thing.”

After Donalds noted that Trump’s original comments related to rioting, Acosta regained the floor and stated that the congressman would “be okay” with the label being applied to Schiff and Pelosi.

“Would you go along with them [Schiff and Pelosi] being rounded up? Would you go along with them being arrested?” he asked.

“Absolutely not. And listen, and let’s be very clear: Donald Trump didn’t even say that. He said he was concerned, he said that, yes, you have somebody like Adam Schiff who would use his position as

chairman of the Intel Committee, who has access to information that even members of Congress don’t have access to, and to leak that into the press. Remember what Adam Schiff did in 2016; he was laundering phony intelligence into our political system. He did that in 2016, 2017, 2018. That is very dangerous in my view,” replied Donalds. “It’s very dangerous to use your position as the chairman of intel to launder phony information into the body politic, saying that Donald Trump was a Russian plant. We all know that was a lie. It was a blatant lie. But Adam Schiff did that. You should have him on your program and ask him about it.

“So, Congressman, so I’m asking you, if Donald Trump orders people inside this country, citizens like Adam Schiff and Nancy Pelosi to be arrested, you’re saying, I think I just heard you a few moments ago saying you would not go along with that. So why not denounce what the former president is saying when he calls them the enemy from within?” followed-up Acosta.

After some crosstalk, Donalds asked Acosta if he was “going to let me answer your question?”

“Donald Trump’s been president for four years already,” observed Donalds. “When he was president of the United States, did he weaponize the Justice Department against his political rivals? No, he did not. When he was

president of the United States, did he order the National Guard or Secret Service or the U.S. military to go after his, quote, unquote, ‘rivals.’ No, he did not.”

The pair continued to spar with Acosta accusing Donalds to giving answers that weren’t “in line with reality.”

Watch above via CNN.

 

Tags: Byron Donalds, Donald Trump, Jim Acosta