‘Let’s Not Get Distracted’: CNN’s Abby Phillip Steps In When Debate About Don Jr’s Russian Oligarch Ties Veers To Hunter Biden

CNN host Abby Phillip had to step in on NewsNight when panelists continued to bring up Hunter Biden during a discussion of Donald Trump Jr.’s ties to a Russian oligarch.

Trump Jr. has been under scrutiny since a ProPublica report surfaced saying Umar Kremlev, an oligarch with close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin, paid for parts of Trump Jr.’s wedding in the Bahamas.

In the Oval Office on Friday, President Donald Trump claimed that his eldest son paid back Kremlev after the story became an issue, and Phillip played a clip of those comments.

“I understand that Don’s paid him back…I actually heard that. What I heard the story I asked about, he said, no, I’m paying it back, dad. So and that was a while ago. So I heard he’s paying him,” the president said.

Phillip called the president’s comments “a rare acknowledgment that they know that this was wrong,” adding, “Like they’re pulling back.”

“Where’s the proof that he’s actually paying the money back?” asked Keith Boykin, former Bill Clinton White House aide. “Trump says a lot of things that aren’t true. So who knows if this is really happening or if it ever did happen.”

Boykin added, “You just had this whole campaign where you complained about Hunter Biden? The nerve of you people!”

Phillip next played video of Sen. John Curtis (R-UT) calling the Trump Jr.-Russia ties “corruption.”

“I mean, but is it?” asked conservative commentator Amy Robbins. “I mean, he’s a private citizen. There’s a difference between —”

“Who’s a private citizen?” Boykin asked, and Robbins replied, “Don Jr.”

“So is Hunter Biden,” Boykin said.

“Well, of course,” Robbins answered, “So, I guess in that vein, if we’re going to say that this is corruption and this is, you know, giving preferential treatment to a president’s son, well, are we going to use that same litmus test on Hunter Biden getting on the board of Burisma, which he was not qualified for?”

Boykin snapped back, “You guys are the ones who spent like two, three years — you spent two years complaining about Hunter Biden, and now you’re —”

“Let’s not get distracted by Hunter Biden,” Phillip interjected. “What is your justification for Don Jr., who’s worth $300 million, accepting a gift like this from a Russian oligarch who he apparently met so recently that his own brother, Eric Trump, who says, ‘Eric has absolutely no clue who this person is, nor has ever heard his name.'”

“I do think that there’s a difference between tacky and treason,” Robbins said. “And I wouldn’t put this in the treason category.”

“What do you think Umar Kremlev wants from Don Jr.?” Phillip asked.

“I don’t know, what do you think the people that put Hunter Biden on the board of Burisma wanted from Hunter Biden?” Robbins answered.

Watch above via CNN.

The Mediaite One-Sheet "Newsletter of Newsletters"
The single summary and analysis of what the many, many media newsletters are saying and reporting from both sides of the aisle. Subscribe now!