Scott Jennings Aghast When Abby Phillip Suggests Trump Officials Might Not Be Credible: ‘You Say the Federal Government’s Lying?’

CNN commentator Scott Jennings took exception after NewsNight host Abby Phillip suggested that claims from the Department of Homeland Security could not necessarily be taken at face value.

On Wednesday, a masked Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer shot and killed 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good. Video of the incident shows agents telling Good, who was in the driver’s seat of an SUV idling in the middle of a road, to exit the vehicle. One agent descended on the vehicle and could be seen grabbing the door. Good briefly put the vehicle in reverse before appearing to turn away from the agents, one of whom fired multiple shots, killing her. The video shows the ICE agent walking away from the scene, seemingly without any notable injury. He was later treated and released at a nearby hospital.

Before the video circulated online and on television, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem exonerated the still-unidentified agent immediately after the shooting. She even claimed Good was engaged in “domestic terrorism.” One former ICE director called Noem’s remarks “incredibly irresponsible.” President Donald Trump also weighed in, slamming Good as a “professional agitator” and claiming it was “hard to believe” the agent was alive.”

On Wednesday’s CNN NewsNight, Jennings blamed Democrats for criticisms of ICE and repeated the government’s claim that Good had been following ICE agents around in public on Wednesday. Phillip pushed back on the claim, saying it is unclear at this time why Good was at the scene:

PHILLIP: It does strike me, Scott, that we actually don’t know that she was doing any of the things that you suggested. We don’t know anything about what she was doing. I mean, do you know as a fact?

JENNINGS: DHS has said out loud today that she had been tracking around ICE agents all day long. That is part of the reporting.

PHILLIP: I’ve read everything there is to read about this woman so far, and we have very little information about what exactly she was doing,” he host replied. “She lives in that neighborhood, it seems. But we don’t know that she was a part of a convoy. We don’t know that she was trying to do anything, particularly with ICE agents. We know her wife was outside of the vehicle recording. But again, we’re talking about jumping to conclusions. Don’t you think–

JENNINGS: You think they may have just accidentally wandered in there?

PHILIP: No, she lives there. That’s–

JENNINGS: So your position is–

PHILLIP: Apparently, from what we know, she lives in that neighborhood.

JENNINGS: You say the federal government is lying about them following ICE agents around?

PHILLIP: All I’m saying is that we don’t know.

Panelist Leigh McGowan proceeded to ask, “When did it become illegal to follow ICE agents around?”

“It’s illegal to engage in obstruction of federal law enforcement,” Jennings responded.

“She was filming them because ICE agents have been known to kill people,” McGowan said.