'That's not true!' CNN anchor and Trump adviser clash in debate over Jack Smith filing
A Trump campaign adviser was on the receiving end of a forceful fact-check Wednesday night from a CNN anchor after he tried to claim the former president is being treated differently than other Americans in the justice system.
Bryan Lanza joined "NewsNight" with host Abby Phillip on Wednesday night and was asked if Trump is laying the groundwork to repeat his alleged 2020 election subversion.
In response, Lanza defended Trump and insisted Trump wants fair and free elections "unlike the last election, where rules were changed."
Not persuaded by the MAGA commentator's response, Phillip shot back that special counsel Jack Smith's massive, new briefing "pretty definitely debunks that."
"No it doesn't," Lanza insisted.
"Yes it does!" exclaimed Phillip.
Lanza doubled down and said — to the agreement of fellow panelist and former Democratic Rep. Bakari Sellers — that the filing is Smith's "interpretation without any stress test."
"There's no way it debunks anything," he said.
Phillip also dug in and insisted that the filing clearly states Trump was told he was going to lose the election and plotted before the election to say he was going to win. She noted the document pointed to recordings of former Trump strategist Steve Bannon talking about Trump's strategy in October 2020.
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"That has nothing to do with irregularities," she insisted. "That's a strategy to lie."
Lanza noted that such documents and evidence "very rarely make it to court because when they're stress-tested they fall off," noting such evidence can come from disgruntled employees and people who misrepresent what happened.
Later in the clip, Lanza and Phillip clashed again as he tried to assert Trump "has been treated differently" in the justice system.
"How?" questions Sellers.
Lanza pointed to the federal judge who decided to hold the hearing before an election.
"Why does the judge get to make that determination?" he asked.
Before he could continue, Phillip again interjected, prompting Lanza to fire back, "You're asking me a question. You're not going to let me finish?"
Phillip noted there's only one reason prosecutors were even given the option to receive the filing.
"The Supreme Court stepped in to say Donald Trump gets to be treated differently," she said.
"No that's not true," Lanza retorted, talking over Phillip. "The reason we're having this filing is because Jack Smith said, 'Donald Trump does not deserve to be treated like everybody else, let's accelerate his case.' That's why we have this filing, Abby, let's be clear."
Phillip pushed back again, asserting that the Supreme Court's immunity ruling forced the district court to decide which of the allegations "actually get to be tried."
"Because Donald Trump has, according to the Supreme Court, some presumption of immunity for some of his actions. That is literally the definition of being treated differently. So he's actually benefitting from that."
Watch the clip below or at this link.