CNN’s “New Day” hosts announced on Friday morning that the network had hired former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe to work as a network contributor.
The move was amusing to Fox News hosts.
During “Fox and Friends,” co-host Steve Doocy joked about the “breaking news” as he read the headline from his phone. Fox’s Jeanine Pirro burst into a near-cackle when she heard the news.
“Amazing,” commentator Katie Pavlich said as co-host Brian Kilmeade shook his head.
“Left in disgrace and I believe there is a referral from the inspector general, I expect him to be indicted soon,” Pirro said. “CNN is showing its true colors. … It’s not surprising that they hired him to be honest with you, but it is disappointing. I mean for everyone who listens to that channel. I mean here’s this guy, who at any moment can be indicted and CNN thinks he’s worthy of credibility.”
Jeanine Pirro bursts into laughter when she learns McCabe has been hired at CNN pic.twitter.com/CztWwwFqb3
— TPM Livewire (@TPMLiveWire) August 23, 2019
Pirro’s reaction is just the pot calling the kettle black. On Thursday, Fox News confirmed that it had hired ex-White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders as a contributor. While not surprising, given that toward the end of her tenure Sanders nearly exclusively appeared on Fox for interviews, the move has been criticized because of Sanders’ penchant for false statements from the podium.
Former Attorney General Jeff Sessions fired McCabe just hours before his retirement benefits were set to kick in. Sessions claimed at the time that he fired McCabe over the lack of candor that the department inspector general cited in its probe into McCabe’s role in helping with a Wall Street Journal story.
But Trump had been publicly calling for McCabe’s ouster for weeks leading up to the termination. Last week, McCabe filed a lawsuit over his firing.
Trump has had it out for McCabe ever since he claimed the former deputy director wasn’t hard enough on Hillary Clinton during the department’s probe into her private emails. While he hasn’t yet weighed in, the cable news president likely won’t be able to resist skewering the network for the hiring.
