Scott Jennings is demanding accountability from critics who questioned his claims about Mitch McConnell’s condition and whereabouts. The CNN commentator revisited the controversy after McConnell returned to the Senate this week.
What We Know: Jennings made news during McConnell’s lengthy absence after saying he had spoken with the Kentucky senator by phone. McConnell had not appeared publicly for roughly three months following a June hospitalization, prompting widespread speculation about his condition. Critics questioned whether Jennings had accurately described his conversations with McConnell. Jennings was also pressed about the matter multiple times on CNN, including on-air challenges to contact McConnell. After McConnell returned to the Senate on Monday, Jennings used his Salem Radio Network program, The Scott Jennings Show, to revisit the controversy.
What They Said: “I told people something very simple. I had spoken to him on the telephone, not through a medium, not with a Ouija board, not through CIA satellite. He called me. We talked for nearly 20 minutes. We spoke again a few weeks later … I reported on CNN that he was recovering at home, that he wanted to return when the Senate reconvened, and that he remained especially interested in the Farm Bill, national defense, and America’s role in NATO. Those were the facts as I personally knew them.
“But facts were not exciting enough for certain bottom-feeding media outlets and pundits. They decided I must be lying. They demanded proof of life. And they wanted me to FaceTime McConnell on live television … If you were planning an enormous political coverup, would you really make Scott Jennings the public face of the operation? Asking legitimate questions is one thing. Calling everyone who provides an answer a liar is something else … The conspiracy theorists won’t apologize, of course. The websites won’t retract their sneering headlines. The people who accuse me of fabricating conversations should delete their posts before moving along to tomorrow’s hoaxes. But I won’t hold my breath. I did, however, save the receipts. So allow your humble reporter this brief moment of mature and dignified reflection. I told you so!” -Scott Jennings
What Remains Unclear: Jennings’ comments don’t establish that every critic or outlet will retract its coverage. However, McConnell’s return confirmed that Jennings’ repeated public statements about McConnell remaining alive and intending to return to work were consistent with the senator’s eventual appearance. Jennings had also acknowledged on CNN earlier this month that he hadn’t spoken with McConnell for several days or a couple of weeks at that point.
What It Means: McConnell’s return gives Jennings an opportunity to revisit a controversy that followed him throughout the senator’s absence. Now, Jennings is arguing that the critics who called his account into question should acknowledge that McConnell ultimately returned to the Senate as he had said he intended to do.
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