CNN’s Van Jones blew off Project Veritas founder James O’Keefe as a “horrible human being” after accusing him of taking his comments out of context in a 2017 video.
Jones attempted to challenge Project Veritas Thursday when he confronted the undercover journalist who recorded him saying “the Russia thing” was a “nothing burger” in an undercover video back in 2017 when he was asked about the probe into alleged Russian collusion in the U.S. election.
“You’re terrible, what you did,” Jones told the formerly undercover journalist after a hug and laugh at Thursday’s events at the Conservative Political Action Conference.
“This is the guy, get his face really good,” he told nearby cameras. “This is the guy who comes up to me on a street corner and acts like he’s my friend. Remember this guy?”
The liberal commentator and former Obama Green Jobs czar accused Project Veritas of taking “the whole thing out of context,” referring to the remark he made in the 2017 video that many thought made him appear to agree with President Trump on the Russia narrative.
More undercover video catches CNN’s Van Jones admitting Russia is a ‘nothing burger’ https://t.co/eAVcSRzdkq pic.twitter.com/fJXk7Wxdur
— Conservative News (@BIZPACReview) June 29, 2017
“That was the extent of our conversation. We exposed you for being sensible, you said something sensible,” the journalist explained.
“We had a whole conversation,” Jones said, disagreeing. “Why do you guys just take a little clip, and a little clip and put it together? If you’re honest, show the whole thing. Put the whole tape up.”
He insisted that he was speaking about events on that particular day and not the Russia probe in general.
“Everybody was all excited. We were gonna have this hearing and it’s gonna change the world. And it was a total nothing burger,” Jones said.
Moments later, Project Veritas founder James O’Keefe spoke up from behind the camera and introduced himself to Jones.
“Van, this is James O’Keefe. What was taken out of context?” he asked.
“You saw the thing yourself. You know it was taken out of context,” he replied before shutting down the conversation and insulting O’Keefe.
“I’m not gonna talk to you because, this guy at least I have a relationship with,” he said, laying his hand on the journalist’s shoulder. “You are someone who is known for taking stuff out of context and for being a horrible human being.”
“So I’m gonna go away,” he said, leaving.
O’Keefe took to Twitter to refute Jones’ claim, sharing the unedited footage which shows him clearly making the remark.
“What do you think is going to happen this week with the whole Russia thing?” he was asked at the time.
“The Russia thing is just a big nothing burger,” Jones responded. “There’s nothing there you can do.”
The uncut footage also revealed banter between the two men about traveling, recent events Jones had attended locally and others interrupting the conversation on the street to speak to him.
Twitter users weighed in on Jones getting owned with O’Keefe’s release of the full, uncut video.
When folks like Van Jones are caught in the truth they always play the context game. It’s silly to do this. The entire country knows the Russian Collusion crap was a giant fraud. There was no Collusion. The Democrats & Fake News media know that.
— Val Wayne (@valwayne) March 1, 2019
Van Jones is a Nothing burger ?
— Jeff Little (@jsl2009) March 1, 2019
Gotta luv the raw footage
— ChroniclezPodcast (@chroniclezpdcst) March 1, 2019
Someone who works for @CNN #FakeNews just uttered the words… “You took the whole thing out of context. We had a whole conversation, why do you guys just take a little clip and a little clip and put it together. If you’re honest, show the whole thing. Put the whole tape up.”
— Tiffany Christian ? (@YSoSusceptible) March 1, 2019
How much plainer can it get, he said the Russian thing was a nothing burger. We all know what that means. lol What a liar.
— Defiant America (@AmericaDefiant) March 1, 2019
Wow, Mr. @VanJones68 apprehensive of James O’Keefe.
— Ivan ?? Raiklin #CPAC2019 (@Raiklin) March 1, 2019
Someone who works for CNN pointing a finger at someone else for editing videos or taking things out of context.
Rich.
— DUH (@Need2BUsed) March 1, 2019
I actually thought it was big of Van Jones to talk about his feelings on the issue. Also big of you to air it.
— Luis (@CallMeLuis) March 1, 2019
Calling a journalist a horrible human for exposing the misdeeds of others…. he’s so hostile to journalist and anti first amendment ?
— Joe (@jl_pm1) March 1, 2019
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Frieda@bizpacreview.com
Originally from New York, Powers graduated from New York University and eventually made her way to sunny South Florida where she has been writing for the BizPacReview team since 2015.
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