CNN guest smacks Katrina Pierson down for trying to link Clinton to Anthony Weiner's sexting

Katrina Pierson admitted on Monday that Donald Trump had no basis for trying to connect Hillary Clinton to Anthony Weiner's latest "sexting" issues. But tried to justify it anyway.

"Mr. Trump, obviously [is] using the scandal to question Secretary Clinton's judgment to say that Weiner might have learned of information through his wife," host Jake Tapper said to Pierson, adding, "There's no actual evidence that he has learned anything classified."

"Well no, which is exactly why he asked the question," Pierson replied. "Huma Abedin is one of the individuals that played a dual role at the State Department, at the Clinton Foundation. We all know now that classified information was recklessly and carelessly handled and he just asked the question. Who knows what he learned and who he told, if he did learn something."

Pierson's speculation was quickly shot down by Democratic strategist Steve McMahon, who said he was questioning Abedin's judgement instead of Clinton's.

"It has nothing to do with [Clinton's] judgement," he said. "You can question Huma's judgement in staying for the third time."

"I don't think it's gonna have any effect at all," he said. "Huma Abedin is an aide to Secretary Clinton. She's not a central figure in the campaign in the sense that her judgement and her choices in her personal life are gonna affect the country."

"There was never a clearer case for 'delete your account,'" said Tapper's other guest, conservative writer Mary Katherine Ham.

As the Los Angeles Times reported, Trump released a statement calling Clinton "careless and negligent in allowing Weiner to have such close proximity to highly classified information" following reports that Weiner had engaged in another round of sexually-suggestive text messages with a woman outside of his marriage with Abedin.

Abedin subsequently announced on Monday afternoon that she was separating from the former Democratic congressman.

Watch the discussion, as aired on Monday, below.