Don Lemon clapped back against Bill O’Reilly on Twitter over accusations that Lemon was refusing to cover allegations that former Obama official Susan Rice wrongly “unmasked” Trump aides.
“False,” Lemon tweeted. “I did not refuse to cover the story. But I did cover your sexual harassment allegations. Did you?”
During a segment on Monday, Lemon set out to debunk allegations that for political purposes, President Barack Obama’s national security advisor Susan Rice had requested the identification of Americans mentioned in intelligence reports. The “CNN Tonight” anchor referenced a Washington Post column and said there is no evidence to support those claims.
Washington Post wrote:
I’m skipping over some smaller developments and plenty of details. But today, we have the following series of events: Trump officials leak that Rice requested the unmasking of the identities of Trump associates who were in communication with foreigners under surveillance; those reporters publish their stories; then the president himself calls attention to them on his Twitter feed.
Such amazing reporting on unmasking and the crooked scheme against us by @foxandfriends. “Spied on before nomination.” The real story.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 3, 2017
“There is no evidence whatsoever that the Trump team was spied on illegally,” Lemon told his viewers. “There is no evidence that backs up the president’s original claim.”
“And on this program tonight,” Lemon continued, “we will not insult your intelligence by pretending otherwise, nor will we aid and abet the people who are trying to misinform you, the American people, by creating a diversion.”
Next, O’Reilly took to Twitter to call Lemon out on refusing to cover the story.
CNN’s Don Lemon refuses to cover Susan Rice story https://t.co/DATs2WMIX2
— Bill O’Reilly (@oreillyfactor) April 4, 2017
Lemon fired back in the best way possible. He brought up allegations of sexual harassment that have been made against O’Reilly and the subsequent pay outs given to the accusers.
The New York Times reports:
For nearly two decades, Bill O’Reilly has been Fox News’s top asset, building the No. 1 program in cable news for a network that has pulled in billions of dollars in revenues for its parent company, 21st Century Fox.
Behind the scenes, the company has repeatedly stood by Mr. O’Reilly as he faced a series of allegations of sexual harassment or other inappropriate behavior.
An investigation by The New York Times has found a total of five women who have received payouts from either Mr. O’Reilly or the company in exchange for agreeing to not pursue litigation or speak about their accusations against him. The agreements totaled about $13 million.
Disgusting. Lemon for the win.
