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CNN anchor Jim Acosta clashed with Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn.over President Donald Trump’s pardons for those charged on January 6 in a heated liberal online showdown that quickly went viral on social media.
On Monday, on his first day in office, Trump signed pardons for approximately 1,500 defendants who were charged with crimes stemming from the riot at the US Capitol, fulfilling a promise he made in December to act quickly and pardon them.
Acosta questioned Burchett about the pardons on his show Wednesday and demanded that he condemn them.
Burchett told Acosta that many of these defendants were not given due process and that those who invaded the Capitol building on January 6, 2021 should not “rot in jail for the rest of their lives in a federal penitentiary and never be charged.
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CNN anchor Jim Acosta argued with Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., over President Trump’s pardons of the Jan. 6 defendants. (CNN/Screenshot)
As Acosta continued to press him to condemn the pardons, Burchett said he didn’t know the details of each person’s case, but said those who broke the law should be in jail.
“What happened to ‘backing blue’? What happened to backing police officers?” Acosta asked hotly. “Your party has said time and time again: ‘We support the blue’. It seems that you let the blue down! You are betraying the blue!
Burchett accused CNN of selective outrage toward Trump’s pardons when former President Joe Biden commuted sentences for murderers and child rapists before leaving office.
He asked Acosta why there was no demand for justice for the violence that occurred during the 2020 Black Lives Matter riots.
“Why don’t you make an editorial and let me continue?” the Republican responded. “Look what happened in the last four years with the police? What happened to all the riots that took place across the country? Police officers were killed. Courthouses were burned. More than 22 police cars were burned. Without However, no one went to jail for that.” “.
“Where are your crocodile tears for that?” he asked Acosta.
Federal agents fire tear gas at a group of protesters during a Black Lives Matter protest at the Mark O. Hatfield United States Courthouse in Portland, Oregon, on July 26, 2020. (AP)
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Acosta accused Burchett of doing “what’s up” before again pleading with his guest to condemn Trump.
“Why not just say, ‘You were wrong, Mr. President?’ Say it! Why can’t you say it?” Acosta pressed.
The two continued the debate for nearly 10 minutes, with Burchett calling the Jan. 6 treatment of the defendants “political from the beginning.”
He told how some of his own constituents, who had left the Capitol grounds before the riots began that day, had been visited and “harassed” by the fbi.
While Acosta continued to pressure Burchett to criticize Trump’s actions, the Republican criticized CNN for its ratings and bias.
Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., mocked CNN’s ratings and bias toward President Trump in a fiery confrontation with Jim Acosta on the liberal network. (Getty Images)
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“You all continue this narrative of attacking Trump. You just can’t stand the fact that he won and that America spoke and that your opinion is greatly diminished,” Burchett said.
Video clips of the segment went viral on X on Wednesday. Burchett shared a clip of his own, criticizing CNN for trying to “lecture” his party on morality after Biden’s controversial pardons.
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The Justice Department reported that approximately 140 police officers were assaulted during the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021. That included law enforcement officers from the U.S. Capitol Police and about 60 from the Metropolitan Police Department.
Fox News’ Diana Stancy contributed to this article.
