‘Beyond The Pale!’ CNN Analyst Lashes Out After Scott Jennings Calls Her ‘Brain-Rotted’ Over Hunter Pardon
CNN analysts Karen Finney and Scott Jennings brawled over President Joe Biden’s decision to pardon First Son, Hunter Biden — with Jennings calling defenders of the pardon “brain-rotted.”
President Biden stunned the political media world Sunday when he announced he is pardoning his son, writing that Hunter “was singled out only because he is my son – and that is wrong.”
The pardon was greeted with widespread criticism from the media, from critics and some allies, and from President-elect Donald Trump.
On Monday morning’s edition of CNN News Central, John Berman moderated a clash that escalated when Jennings made a pointed reference during a blistering rant about the pardon — seconds after Finney defended it:
JOHN BERMAN: Granting clemency for the crimes for which Hunter Biden was convicted of illegally purchasing a gun, a tax evasion, but also a blanket pardon for any federal crimes that may have been committed basically between 2014 and 2024. So what about that literal get out of jail free card for a ten year period in.
KAREN FiNNEY: Well, look, literally, you know, the president recognizes that Republicans have been for years now trying to attack the president himself, go after his family. And when you have someone who literally ran their campaign on retribution, on the idea of I will be your retribution. Getting back at his enemies, I would imagine, obviously having spoken to the president about this, but I would imagine the president took a look at this and said, I want to make sure this is ironclad, that there is nothing that can be done to circumvent what I’m going to do to protect my son and to try to take the target off of his back once and for all.
So that’s my reading of it. But again, I think that the hypocrisy here is astounding. I mean, Donald Trump has said and done things, you know, said things and done other things. And again, he’s a convicted felon himself. He has used his power to benefit his friends, his wealthy allies. In this instance, we’re talking about a man who decided to take care of his son after years of unrelenting attacks. I don’t blame him.
JOHN BERMAN: Scott, did you have the same concerns over a judge? Do you hang on a justice system for the elite, as you put it before, when it was Donald Trump pardoning Steve Bannon, Paul Manafort, Roger Stone, Michael Flynn, Charlie Kushner, same concern then?
SCOTT JENNINGS: Listen, you guys can spend all day long trying to spin this, that this is Donald Trump’s fault, that this is somehow caused by Donald Trump. He’s appointing the wrong people. He did it.
This is the worst possible thing a president could possibly do to his party and to the country to sit for a year and say, I will not do this. I will not do this. The rule of law is sacred. We have to respect the justice system. Juries, we have to respect juries. We have to respect the guardrails and the norms of our democracy.
These people are liars. Inflation is transitory. Afghanistan is a success. The border is secure. Robert Hur is a liar. The videos are cheap fakes. Biden has a cold. He’ll never drop out. He’ll never pardon Hunter.
It’s all a lie. It is all a grift. Every American except the most partisan brain-rotted people are going to be outraged by this today. He is going to leave off, you think 38, 39% job approval is bad? Just you wait. Just you wait. He’s disgraced, disgraced today. Outrageous.
KAREN FiNNEY: You don’t need to, but you don’t need to hurl names and say people like me are brain rotted. Come on! That’s a little beyond the pale even for you, Scott!
JOHN BERMAN: Listen, I–.
KAREN FiNNEY: We can disagree–
SCOTT JENNINGS: You don’t have to defend this he is leaving office. You don’t have to defend it. You don’t have to die on this hill. You can say this is wrong because everybody know that it is wrong.
KAREN FiNNEY: I am fine with it, Scott, that’s why I’m defending it!
Watch above via CNN News Central.
