CNN was caught once again defending the indefensible as anchor Don Lemon suggested that a tape of Hillary Clinton laughing about a case where she successfully got a guilty rapist off on a light sentence is not authentic, despite it having been verified as real years ago.
The tape was uncovered by The Washington Free Beacon in 2014. It contains audio of Hillary discussing a 1975 child rape case in which she defended the accused rapist during her time as a lawyer.
The tape, dating from the mid 1980s, was discovered by reporter Alana Goodman who found it in archives at the University of Arkansas.
Amazing. @donlemon suggests that might not be Hillary Clinton talking about defense of rapist on the Reed tape. https://t.co/ClBjXs0whl
— Alana Goodman (@alanagoodman) October 15, 2016
We spent four months reporting this out in 2014. Yes, it is Hillary Clinton speaking on the tape https://t.co/YjNm5VAynO @donlemon
— Alana Goodman (@alanagoodman) October 15, 2016
Clinton is heard speaking with journalist Roy Reed, and laughing about preventing a “miscarriage of justice” when she introduced a criminal ‘expert’ from New York to cast doubt on the prosecution’s forensic evidence.
Clinton is also heard laughing about the polygraph tests in the tape, saying that it was “fascinating” how her client passed a polygraph, which “forever destroyed my faith in polygraphs,” indicating that she knew full well that the accused was guilty of raping a child.
CNN covered the tape in depth in 2014, and never once doubted its authenticity.
Clinton even stood by her defense of the guilty rapist in the case, when the tape was uncovered.
However, during an interview Sunday with former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski, the subject was raised when the former Trump aide said that Clinton had argued the 12-year-old victim, Kathy Shelton, had fantasies for older men. Lemon and Clinton supporter Maria Cardona tried to shut down the discussion, saying that claims about the tape were not true.
“So the audio tape isn’t accurate?” Lewandowski asked.
“It’s a false accusation,” Lemon responded.
“It’s a doctored audio tape, that’s what we’re saying?” Lewandowski asked.
“It’s a false accusation, Corey. It’s not the truth,” Lemon said. “It’s not even clear that it’s her on the audio tape.”
“It’s absolutely her on the audio tape,” Lewandowski said.
“I would tell our viewers to go listen to it,” Lemon replied.
The pro-Clinton media scrambled to defend Hillary on this matter after Donald Trump brought Kathy Shelton to the second debate last week.
“It is totally false to say that Hillary Clinton laughed about the rape of a 12-year-old,” Politico wrote. Clinton “chuckled,” the outlet admitted, but suggested that Trump is “wrong,” with the headline “Trump is wrong: Hillary Clinton did not laugh about the rape of a 12-year-old.”
Similarly, Politifact wrote: “Trump is referring to an audio tape in which she does respond with amusement at her recollections of the oddities of the case, which involve the prosecution and the judge. At no point does she laugh at the victim.”
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