CNN re-airs its own contributor's comments as an example of a pro-Trump smear campaign

Former Rep. Sean Duffy (R-Wisc.) has had a tumultuous start to his stint as a CNN commentator, and the network wasn't afraid to call him out for controversial comments he made on air Tuesday morning.

Duffy argued that the National Security Council's top Ukraine expert Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman — who will become the first sitting White House official to testify in the House impeachment inquiry Tuesday and is expected to tell investigators he was concerned about President Trump's phone call in July with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky — might be biased because he was born in Ukraine. Duffy indicated Vindman may have an extraordinary affinity for the country, perhaps surpassing his sympathy for the United States.

CNN host John Berman didn't have much patience for the comment and grilled Duffy over why he noted that Vindman, an Iraq War veteran with a Purple Heart, was a Ukrainian immigrant. "That's a pretty stunning comment you made just there," Berman said, also pointing out that staunch Trump supporter Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) was born in France.

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Strangely, after Duffy's appearance, CNN re-aired its own contributor's comments while Berman continued to criticize him. Tim O'Donnell