CNN reporter Caitlin McConnell asks the VA secretary whether officials use encrypted Signal for communications. He deflects repeatedly, instead attacking CNN over a $5 million defamation lawsuit involving a veteran in Florida and claiming the network is hostile to veterans.
This is how you handle, uh, the left-wing media when they want to continue to throw out this signal mistake despite the fact that Biden's foreign policy has been an absolute disaster. I'm gonna bring you a whole bunch of Trump wins today, so be prepared for that. Let's roll the clip, por favor. Mr.
McConnell, do you believe that a mistake was made here though to have this conversation, to add a reporter and to have it on an un— supported, unclassified group setting?
Caitlin, as I've just told you, I've just answered the question. I wasn't a part of it. And, you know, I'm not going to speculate more than what the president's already talked about and those who've been involved and talked about. But I'd love to talk about the veterans.
Yeah, and I do have questions about the veterans. But given what we saw with the group chat and how this was used, you are a member of the cabinet. You obviously know these other members, several of them who were in there. Is this typical for the cabinet to have conversations over Signal? Is this something that you use?
All right, well, Kaylin, uh, since you undoubtedly do not want to talk about the VA, I have a question. As VA Secretary, as cabinet, I want to ask you, because I've been curious about this, because my job is to take care of veterans, and I would like to know why CNN is hostile to veterans, especially one in Florida where you just had a $5 million defamation suit taking offense at a veteran who was trying to help people. In fact, one of your employees actually said, we're going to nail him. I have a question for you, Kaylin. Is that employee still employed? Are you really concerned about veterans? So if we don't want to talk about veterans now, you want to talk about everything else. I'd like to hear from CNN as the veteran cabinet secretary why CNN seems to have a problem with veterans.
Well, Mr. Secretary, respectfully, my question was about whether or not you as a member of the cabinet use this. And respectfully, I'm conducting the investigation and I do have a lot of questions for you on Veterans Affairs. But I don't think—
No, Caitlin, what you want to do is you want to talk about a subject. What you want to do is talk about a question that I've already answered. And if you want to continue this like this, that's fine. But there are VA employees who are working very hard. There are veterans who get their care from the VA and they get their benefits from the VA. And it does me no good to speculate on something that I've already asked and answered. So I've asked and answered your question. Why don't you answer mine? Are you still— is this person still employed who said they were going to nail one of my veterans? Who you had to do a $5 million award from a jury because of defamation, and then you settled the case. Answer my question.
Respectfully, sir, I'm asking the questions here, and I have no involvement in there. But if you don't want to answer the question—
All right, that's how you handle it. That's how you handle it, guys. What, what, what happened? What have we witnessed? I'm going to get into an article shortly here, uh, from the great Victor Davis Hanson. Guys, we cannot befriend leftists. We have to understand what's going on in Washington, D.C. A bit of naivete. I've said it and I'll say it again. They have— the left has no moral authority to talk to us about this issue. I'm not saying it wasn't a mistake. I'm not saying it wasn't a big deal. I don't think it's a fireable offense, this signal issue whatsoever. Just a quick reminder, if they're really concerned about national security, I'd like to— I have some questions on Benghazi. If they're really concerned about national security, I have to— I have some questions about the dementia patient that was in the White House for 4 years. If they're really concerned about national security, I want to know why nobody knew that Lloyd Austin, Secretary of Defense, was hospitalized. If they're really concerned about national security, I want to know more about the Afghanistan debacle. I want to know more about the Chinese balloons traversing across the United States. I want to know more about the Biden administration giving money to Iran and to Russia to continue their attack against Ukraine.
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