On CNN Thursday, anchor Erin Burnett covered the story of President Donald Trump and his intelligence chiefs, pointing out his admission that he didn’t read the disputed report, and his difference with the record. He denied what everyone can see and hear for themselves, said Burnett.

“The tapes don’t lie,” said Burnett. “But the president?”

She let that implication hang for a moment before expanding on the rationale. She explained that the president told reporters that when he spoke to Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats and CIA Director Gina Haspel privately, that they denied comments that were previously made on the record. “He says that at that meeting today with him they both denied saying what we heard them all say,” said Burnett, and then played the clip.

In the clip, Trump says that Haspel and Coats told him they “were totally misquoted and it was taken out of context,” and that they told him it was “fake news.”

“I wonder if they used those words,” said Burnett. “Let’s just be clear here about the situation. Haspel and Coats testified under oath before the Senate intelligence committee, and they testified on tape in an open hearing for all Americans to hear and watch if they wanted to.”

She played clips of both intel chiefs making comments that split with the president on various national security and foreign policy matters, including ISIS and North Korea, beside clips of Trump saying the opposite. She emphasized they were not taken out of context.

“The tapes don’t lie? And frankly, I think it’s important to say this: neither dd Gina Haspel and Dan Coats. They do not lie under another about security threats to the United States of America. To suggest otherwise is beyond insulting.”

She also pointed out that there are signed official reports which contradict Trump. The president tonight isn’t only saying that the nation’s top intelligence officers didn’t say what we heard them all say. He’s also saying that they did not write what we can actually read in their 42-page report,” she said.

“You can read it for yourself,” she added. “But here’s what the president said.”

The clip played showing Trump stating, “I didn’t see the report from the intelligence. When you read it, it’s a lot different than it was covered in the news.”

She noted that it’s odd he would say he didn’t read it, and then say that reading it gives a different impression than hearing it on the news. “He says he didn’t read it and that is obvious because this report is consistent with the testimony of his intelligence chiefs,” she added.

She played a few more clips that flatly contradicted Trump’s assertion that the two intel chiefs were taken out of context. “I mean, I don’t even know what to make or to even say about this,” she said.

Watch the clip above, courtesy of CNN.

[Featured image via screengrab]

—

Follow Caleb Howe (@CalebHowe) on Twitter

from Mediaite http://bit.ly/2HK01Y6