CNN's resident conservative Scott Jennings got called out Wednesday for making a cynically insincere defense of President Donald Trump against insinuations about his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein.
The president has been unable to change the topic away from demands for the release of a client list of the pedophile, and Democratic operative Karen Finney told "CNN News Central" the situation reminded her of the sex abuse scandal that engulfed the Catholic Church.
"Are you standing on the side of the powerful or are you protecting the vulnerable?" Finney said. "Because Donald Trump has the power to make this happen today, if he wanted to, and instead he's obfuscating with, like, 'Oh, well, let's get the grand jury testimony, let's get, let's go have Todd Blanche talk to, you know, Ghislaine Maxwell.'
"Well, that's not the same thing as saying, you know what? We're going to redact the names of the women and protect the girls, and we're going to make the information available, and last thing I'll say, the reason it matters, it's not just about whether or not Donald Trump is in there. It's about who else is in there, who are likely very powerful people, mutually assured destruction here with a lot to lose, and Donald Trump is protecting them over these young women."
The conservative Jennings asked to rebut, and stipulated that he agreed with Finney on the necessity of protecting the victims — but he disputed that Trump was trying to protect himself.
"If it is a cover-up or some scheme to protect Donald Trump today, what would you have called it, say, during the [President Joe] Biden administration, when they had these exact same records for four years and not a shred of it was put out?" Jennings said. "Would you say they were covering up for the powerful, too? Because if you're alleging it today, you must have been alleging it then."
Finney pushed back immediately and put Jennings on the spot.
"Well, no, actually, that's not what I'm saying, Scott, and you know it," she said, "so please don't be disingenuous."
Jennings protested, saying that Biden and his administration had the same records that Democrats and Republicans alike are seeking to be released, but Finney said the current president was responsible for making this a political issue in the first place.
But Finney gave him an on-air fact-check that left him silenced.
"Donald Trump is the one," Finney continued. "Hold on – Donald Trump is the one who made this an issue. The only reason this is an issue right now is because Donald Trump, for years, has been talking about releasing these records, releasing these records that his, it is his base that has been interested in them.
"Okay, when you, I mean, you had the whole show of the meeting at the White House with the binders. Ghislaine Maxwell was sentenced in 2022, she was in prison. Her, I mean, so there, I mean, you did have Debbie Wasserman Schultz has been trying to pass legislation to protect victims from these types of secret sweetheart deals like we saw Epstein get. But, again, it is Donald Trump's base that has been clamoring, it is the Laura Loomers of the world who are attacking him about this, that have kicked this up, and, I mean, there's the only reason is because of Donald Trump's promise – I'm not saying, you know, cover up or not. I'm saying, who are you going to protect with your power? Are you going to protect wealthy men, or are you going to protect the vulnerable? That's the question right now."
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