CNN’s Blitzer: McSally Attack ‘Disgusting,’ ‘Awful’

Anchor Wolf Blitzer said on Thursday’s broadcast of CNN’s “Situation Room” that Sen. Martha McSally (R-AZ) calling CNN senior congressional correspondent Manu Raju a “liberal hack” was “disgusting.”

Blitzer said, “Manu, I want to ask you something that happened today with you up on Capitol Hill when you attempted to air a very fair, serious, important question to Republican Senator Martha McSally of Arizona. A question about the upcoming trial in the Senate.”

After playing a clip of the encounter, Blitzer said, “Instead of answering a fair question, she simply called you a ‘liberal hack.’ It was disgusting, it was awful. She should know better. Certainly, you’re one of the most respected congressional reporters up on Capitol Hill. Walk us through what was going through your mind at that time.”

Raju said, “Well, it’s a key question at this moment because House Democrats are planning to present evidence in this trial, including evidence that has not been submitted yet through the course of the impeachment inquiry. Things that have come out. Lev Parnas providing a number of documents, lots of documents to the House Intelligence Committee. That’s the former Giuliani associate. And it’s possible there’s going to be even more evidence that will come out while the trial is ongoing, and at that point, senators like Martha McSally will have the choice to make about whether to vote to allow new evidence to be considered. So a key question that I have, and a lot of reporters up here have, is about whether or not senators will agree and vote to actually allow that new evidence to come forward. And Martha McSally, as you could see Wolf, did not want to talk about it. Also, she’s in the middle of a very difficult reelection race, and she’s using that exchange to fundraise for her campaign.”

Blitzer said, “Yeah, it’s awful. I take it, she or her staff, no one has reached out to apologize to you, have they?”

Raju said, “I have not heard from them at all.”

Blitzer said, “If they did the right thing, she would personally call you and say, ‘I’m sorry.’ It was an awful, awful thing that she did.”

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