A CNN panel trashed the “urgent” meeting State Department inspector general Steve Linick requested with congressional committee staffers on Wednesday.
The meeting was called regarding documents obtained from the department’s Office of the Legal Adviser, which was viewed as out of the norm because it took place during a congressional recess, according to ABC News.
Following the meeting, Democratic Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin, who sits on the Judiciary Committee, told reporters that the documents provided “nothing” that “is directly relevant to the president’s impeachable conduct. I don’t think it relates to the president’s high crimes and misdemeanors.”
After CNN aired Raskin’s remarks, Jake Tapper said, “I don’t understand the purpose of the inspector general turning over these documents and I certainly don’t understand the purpose of having a press conference like that if all of this stuff is just unproven, not linked to anybody, no proof of wrongdoing by anybody and all of it is false.”
“Man, are you polite. I will never have your job. Let me give you another interpretation. The congressman put his foot in a cow pie and said isn’t this cool? What a hot mess that was. They don’t know where this stuff came from,” CNN analyst and former FBI and CIA official Phil Mudd answered.
“I could have sent it for all they know,” he continued. “He hasn’t had the time to review it so we don’t know exactly what is in there. He comes to us and says despite the fact that he jumps out to a press conference ten seconds later, it is not clear where this was such an urgent matter and he also says it is not even clear this is relevant to the investigation we have underway.”
The inspector general is supposed to act as the department’s internal investigator and watchdog.
