CNN’s Scott Jennings Admits Trump Likely Can’t ‘Void’ Pardons as Abby Phillip Assails His Argument
CNN GOP analyst Scott Jennings admitted President Donald Trump likely can’t “void” President Joe Biden’s pardons even as he sparred with anchor Abby Phillip over whether Trump’s pardons were similar to Biden’s.
The president baselessly asserted that Biden’s preemptive pardons are “VOID” based on evidence-free claims they were signed with an autopen without Biden’s knowledge. Trump first raised the issue during a gaggle aboard Air Force One on Sunday, then in a more forcefully worded post on Truth Social in which he flatly declared the pardons “VOID” and “VACANT.”.
On Monday’s edition of CNN NewsNight, Phillip asked Jennings if he’s “okay with that, pardons just disappearing because the president says that they should?”
Jennings said he was “skeptical” Trump’s claim will “hold up,” but then tried to assail Biden’s pardons. Phillip met him with a refutation at every turn:
PHILLIP: When the issue is on the other foot, would you be okay with that, pardons just disappearing because the president says that they should?
JENNINGS: Well, I’m skeptical that argument’s going to hold up, but I just would say on the Biden pardons, they didn’t go through the normal process. They didn’t go through the DOJ. You’ve been talking about normal process.
PHILLIP: That’s true of Trump’s pardons too.
JENNINGS: Well, I know, but no one’s alleging that he had a device, signed them, and he wasn’t aware of it.
PHILLIP: But, Scott, as we’ve established, since 2005, it has been established the president can use autopen. It doesn’t change anything.
JENNINGS: I’m not arguing that it is.
PHILLIP: Also Trump didn’t go through a process either, and that’s not required. It’s a constitutional liability.
JENNINGS: I know that, but because it didn’t go through a process, and it was his own family, and it was apparently handled by a very small number of people in the White House. These pardons probably have less visibility than any pardons in modern history.
PHILLIP: This is also referring to the January 6th committee members, not the family.
JENNINGS: But they didn’t run any of this through DOJ. And so at the end —
PHILLIP: Is that suddenly an issue now?
JENNINGS: Well, at the end of the Biden — at the end of the Biden administration, legitimate questions have been asked about who was running the White House and who was exercising the authority of the Office of the President. These are not illegitimate questions.
PHILLIP: I don’t — you got to — hold on. I think you have to be you have to be fair about it if you say that it’s a problem to not run this by DOJ.
JENNINGS: No.
PHILLIP: It’s got to be a problem to not run other parties.
JENNINGS: No, I’m saying there’s little transparency.
PHILLIP: He pardoned 1600 January 6th – – convicted January 6th rioters, including people who assaulted —
(CROSSTALK)
JENNINGS: And talked about doing it for months.
PHILLIP: And yeah. But it didn’t go —
JENNINGS: There’s no question that some — some unnamed —
PHILLIP: But Scott, but Scott —
JENNINGS: – family member did it on his behalf.
PHILLIP: Just –
JENNINGS: We don’t know that about Biden.
PHILLIP: Just — just to be intellectually honest, you would also have to say that should have gone through a process, and it did not.
JENNINGS: Well, to be intellectually honest, why are you denying all of the mainstream reporting about who was actually running the Biden White House?
PHILLIP: Well, that’s —
(CROSSTALK)
JENNINGS: Including reporting.
NAVARRO: Saying that this has not been run by DOJ.
PHILLIP: Tonight, we are all about changing topics when questions are being asked.
NAVARRO: Yes.
PHILLIP: But I just want to note, that is not what we were discussing.
Watch above via CNN NewsNight.
