Matt Gaetz Clashes With Abby Phillip Over Biden Bribery Accusations: ‘Do You Think They Were Paying Him To Figure Out Where To Go Buy Crack?’
Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) clashed with CNN host Abby Phillip on Thursday over the House Republican impeachment attempt against President Joe Biden and the arrest of one of their sources for making false statements.
After grilling Gaetz about the arrest of impeachment inquiry source Alexander Smirnov, who was charged with making false statements to the FBI after claiming that the Ukrainian energy company Burisma had paid President Biden and his son Hunter Biden $5 million each, Phillip then played a compilation of Gaetz’s colleagues calling Smirnov “highly credible” and his claims “direct evidence of naked corruption and bribery.”
Asked whether the remarks from his colleagues had been “irresponsible,” Gaetz replied, “A few of those characterizations might have been a little, a little over sauced, but I do think that the bribery can also go to a family member.”
He argued, “If you want to bribe a 75-year-old man, you pay their kids.”
“Here’s the thing. You just acknowledged there’s actually no evidence of bribery,” said Phillip, to which Gaetz protested, “I did not acknowledge that.”
Phillip shot back, “Here’s what you said, Congressman. This was in October at a private fundraiser. You said, ‘I don’t believe that we are endeavoring upon a legitimate impeachment of Joe Biden… They’re trying to engage in a forever war of impeachment, and like so many of our forever wars, it will drag on forever and end in a bloody draw.’ Honestly, it seems like maybe you were right the first time.”
The CNN host then asked, “Given that, according to Jim Jordan, this was the most corroborating piece of evidence that they had, should they drop this impeachment?”
Gaetz replied:
I disagree with Jordan that this is what’s most corroborating. I think what’s most corroborating are the payments to Hunter Biden and Frank Biden and James Biden. I was deposing James Biden and the way that they took money from the Chinese government would make your skin crawl. Now, that’s admittedly James Biden, not Joe Biden, but I do believe when these foreign governments are loading up the entire Biden family apparatus with cash, they’re not doing so to extract some sort of skill or service from these ne’er-do-well Bidens, they doing it to influence Joe Biden.
“Everything that you’ve described is an inference,” argued Phillip. “You actually haven’t given any proof of what you’re alleging.”
Gaetz then mocked, “But Abby, why do you think Burisma was paying Hunter Biden? Do you think they were paying him to figure out where to go buy crack in LA? I mean, they were paying him because he had access to Joe.”
After Phillip pointed out that conservative lawyer Jonathan Turley had said “there’s not enough evidence to support articles of impeachment against Joe Biden,” Gaetz concluded sarcastically, “Yeah, when Jonathan Turley said that we should’ve asked Jamaal Bowman to pull a fire alarm. It was a devastating moment for House Republicans.”
Watch above via CNN.
