CNN reporter accuses pro-Trump colleague of ‘misleading commentary’ on the network, fails to provide evidence

CNN media reporter Oliver Darcy accused a pro-Trump colleague of offering "misleading commentary" on the network without offering any evidence of the bold claim. 

CNN contributor Scott Jennings is one of the network’s few defenders of former President Trump, and often clashes with liberal colleagues on air. In Tuesday’s edition of CNN’s "Reliable Sources" newsletter, Darcy appeared to co-sign former Clinton press secretary Joe Lockhart calling for Jennings’ job. 

"Scott Jennings continues to draw scrutiny for misleading commentary on CNN, where he is a paid conservative pundit. Joe Lockhart became the latest to call out Jennings on Tuesday," Darcy wrote before citing Lockhart. 

"I was a compensated contributor for CNN for more than 3 years and have really enjoyed many, many years of going on. I constantly disagreed with folks I was on with, but I always felt like it was a serious conversation where honest views were exchanged. This is different. Mr. Jennings blamed Biden for the attack. Now he's denying evidence is not real. This is not only a threat to journalism but to democracy. Look at history. This shouldn't be condoned and certainly shouldn't be compensated," Lockhart wrote on social media.

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Darcy did not provide any specific examples of the "misleading commentary" by Jennings. Lockhart’s social media post was in response to a clip of Jennings suggesting Trump’s "bloodbaths" remark was taken out of context. 

CNN did not immediately respond to a series of questions, including whether leadership condones Darcy publicly criticizing a colleague. Darcy did not respond to a request for comment. 

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A CNN spokesperson and Darcy were both asked for specific examples of "misleading commentary" by Jennings but failed to respond. 

Earlier this year, Trump mentioned putting tariffs on Chinese-made cars that China would sell to Americans. Addressing Chinese communist leader Xi Jinping, Trump stated, "If you’re listening, President Xi — and you and I are friends — but he understands the way I deal. Those big monster car manufacturing plants that you’re building in Mexico right now… you’re going to not hire Americans, and you’re going to sell the cars to us, no. We’re going to put a 100% tariff on every single car that comes across the line, and you’re not going to be able to sell those cars if I get elected."

Immediately after, the former president said, "Now if I don’t get elected, it’s going to be a bloodbath for the whole – that’s gonna be the least of it. It’s going to be a bloodbath for the country. That will be the least of it. But they’re not going to sell those cars. They’re building massive factories."

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A plethora of legacy media outlets reported on the quote, sharing headlines simply stating that Trump warned of a "bloodbath" if he didn’t win. Conservative commentators, Republican lawmakers, and others have long defended Trump’s remark, much like Jennings attempted to do in the clip shared by Lockhart. 

The Federalist editor-in-chief Mollie Hemingway interpreted Darcy’s newsletter as a call for his job. 

"CNN anti-speech activist Oliver Darcy is trying to get his CNN colleague @ScottJenningsKY fired. Jennings has been a rare voice of reason on a network known for almost universally spreading left-wing propaganda," Hemingway wrote on X shortly after the newsletter was published. 

Jennings did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

Darcy, who cut his teeth in conservative media earlier in his career but has since become one of its fiercest critics in his role at CNN, has gone after colleagues and scolded his employer in the past. 

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Last year, Darcy was among the CNN’s most outspoken critics of the decision to air a Trump town hall on the network. Darcy wrote that it was "hard to see how America was served by the spectacle of lies that aired on CNN" during the event.

Darcy also used his newsletter to undermine former CNN CEO Chris Licht, writing that staffers were "sad about the awful state of affairs that has taken hold of an organization they love" under his leadership. Darcy’s criticism of his own employer was so harsh that a CNN spokesperson had to issue a statement that he didn’t intend to resign. 

Weeks after Darcy put a spotlight on the backlash to the town hall, CNN’s corporate parent, Warner Bros. Discovery, fired Licht. 

Darcy took over the "Reliable Sources" in 2022 after original author Brian Stelter was fired by Licht. 

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Fox News Digital’s Joseph A. Wulfsohn, Gabriel Hays and David Rutz contributed to this report.