CNN’s Burnett: Impeachment Inquiry Based on Word of One ‘Self-Proclaimed IRS Whistleblower’

On Tuesday’s broadcast of CNN’s “OutFront,” host Erin Burnett commented on a report from CNN that according to transcripts they obtained, some federal officials have given testimony contradicting claims by IRS whistleblower Gary Shapley on U.S. Attorney David Weiss not being the ultimate deciding authority on charging Hunter Biden and being denied special counsel authority by stating that Republicans aren’t going to say, “maybe one person’s recollection isn’t enough to base an entire impeachment inquiry on” and characterizing Shapley as “a self-proclaimed IRS whistleblower.”

After discussing the gun charges against Hunter Biden and his intention to plead not guilty, Burnett said, “The news comes [on] the same day that CNN is learning about new testimony that does directly contradict a key allegation from a self-proclaimed IRS whistleblower.”

After reading from portions of the testimony from other officials, Burnett stated, “Now, none of this has stopped the Republicans from touting the whistleblower’s testimony and claiming that the entire Hunter Biden investigation is politically influenced.”

During the segment, CNN Senior Justice Correspondent Evan Pérez noted that Shapley’s lawyers have stated that he has contemporaneous notes of the meeting, and CNN’s own story notes that Shapley sent an email the day of the meeting to Darrell Waldon saying that Weiss had requested special counsel authority and had been denied and wasn’t the decider of whether charges would be brought and Waldon replied, (page 178) “Thanks, Gary. You covered it all.” Although, according to CNN’s report, Waldon now says that while Shapley’s email “covered it all,” Weiss didn’t say he wasn’t the deciding person or had requested to be made special counsel.

Later, Burnett added, “They’ve already thrown the seeds out there. What, you’re going to hear Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) come out and go, actually, now I realize maybe one person’s recollection isn’t enough to base an entire impeachment inquiry on?”

Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett