1 month ago
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CNN anchor Abby Phillip had a scathing response up her sleeve Monday for her conservative “NewsNight” commentator Scott Jennings that made several panelists laugh out loud.
Newark Mayor Ras Baraka was on the show to defend Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-N.J.), who was charged Monday with assaulting a federal agent while they were both protesting outside Delaney Hall, a New Jersey detention center for migrants, earlier this month.
The Department of Homeland Security has shared footage from the protest and claimed that McIver was “assaulting” an agent trying to detain Baraka, who was arrested outside the facility for alleged trespassing during the May 9 protest.
When Baraka told “NewsNight” he didn’t see McIver attacking anyone during the chaotic skirmish, Jennings pushed back.
“I mean, the videos are pretty clear, are they not?” Jennings pressed. “I mean, she’s shoving — elbows, some punches — I mean, this is violent activity against law enforcement, is it not?”
Baraka agreed that the videos are “clear,” but only in showing that there was “a lot of pushing and shoving” from both parties.
That prompted Jennings to ask with a smirk: “Would a regular person, if they came and did that to a federal officer, get away with it?”
That’s when Phillip pounced.
“They might get pardoned,” she replied, prompting laughter from Baraka and former presidential candidate Cornel West, who was also on the show.
Jennings ignored the comment. He has previously defended Trump for pardoning around 1,500 people convicted of crimes related to the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot.
New Jersey’s interim U.S. Attorney Alina Habba said Monday she is dropping Baraka’s trespassing case, but is charging McIver with assaulting, impeding and interfering with law enforcement.
Delaney Hall was a drug treatment center before closing in 2023 and reopening as a migrant detention facility after Trump launched mass deportations in January.
Democratic strategist Julie Roginsky, who was also on “NewsNight,” called the case “rotten from start to finish.”
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“Pam Bondi is the attorney general for the United States; it’s ultimately her decision,” she said. “[But ]Pam Bondi was the lobbyist for The Geo Group, which owns Delaney Hall, which has a $1.2 billion with a ‘b’ contract at Delaney Hall.”
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