House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) pushed back on questioning from a CNN reporter about former president Trump’s recent federal indictment by bringing up hires the network has made of former federal law enforcement officials.
“The idea of equal justice is not playing out here,” McCarthy said to a number of reporters gathered at the Capitol on Monday, pointing to CNN correspondent Lauren Fox and saying, “You’re with CNN right?”
“Let’s take Andrew McCabe for example,” the speaker said, before Fox interrupted him saying, “but this is a different set of circumstances,” and pressing the Republican on if he was prepared to defend the former president.
“Are you prepared to defend your network, CNN,” McCarthy shot back. “You can’t put words in my mouth even though your network hired Andrew McCabe who was fired from the FBI for leaking classified documents.”
McCarthy also name dropped James Clapper, another federal law enforcement official turned cable news pundit who Trump regularly attacks.
McCabe, a former FBI official, was hired by CNN as a contributor and is also frequently critical of Trump.
After Friday’s federal indictment was revealed, McCabe described the former president’s alleged actions as “a spy’s dream.”
McCarthy and other House Republicans have blasted Trump’s indictment as political and suggested Trump is getting unfair treatment by President Biden’s Justice Department.
Federal prosecutors have accused Trump of jeopardizing national security with his handling of classified documents and charged the former president with 37 counts, most of which fall under potential violations of the Espionage Act.
Trump is slated to be arraigned on the charges against him in Miami on Tuesday.