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‘Serious Credibility Problem’: CNN’s Jake Tapper Warns Against Making Parnas ‘The Second Coming Of Theodore Roosevelt’

The Lead." Screen Shot/CNN

Virginia Kruta Associate Editor
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CNN anchor Jake Tapper issued a warning Thursday against blindly taking Giuliani associate Lev Parnas at his word.

During a segment of his weekday afternoon show “The Lead,” Tapper noted that Parnas had a “serious credibility problem” and suggested people should think twice before running to social media to tout him as “the second coming of Theodore Roosevelt.”

WATCH:

Tapper introduced the topic to a panel on “The Lead,” noting that the White House had already suggested Parnas was not a credible witness. Trump senior adviser Kellyanne Conway had referred to Parnas earlier in the day as “desperate for attention” and noted that during his television interview, he had not been under oath. (RELATED: John Kennedy Says Impeachment Trial Could Get Interesting: ‘We Could End Up With A Scenario Where Chuck Caught The Car’)

“Let’s chew over all this,” Tapper began. “We can’t ignore Parnas has a serious credibility problem. He’s under indictment for campaign finance charges. The Foreign Minister of Ukraine told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour he doesn’t trust a word Parnas is saying. And I see people out there on social media, Democrats, acting as if he’s the second coming of Theodore Roosevelt.”

“All those reasons are why people should want him to testify under oath,” political reporter Nia-Malika Henderson agreed. “Like Kellyanne Conway said, when he’s talking on television, he isn’t under oath. There’s a way to get him under oath.”

Parnas has offered to testify before Congress, but discrepancies between his comments to CNN last November and to the New York Times this past week may lead to further questions with regard to his credibility as a witness.