Rumors are swirling that CNN threw Hillary Clinton a pre-planned, softball question during Monday night's Town Hall Q&A — but Ari Fleischer, the former White House spokesman for President George W. Bush, isn't buying it.
"I don't [believe it]," Fleischer said Tuesday on "The Steve Malzberg Show" on
Newsmax TV.
"I used to be a CNN contributor and as much as CNN is somewhat of a liberal network, I never saw evidence directly like that. No."
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As media watchdog
Mediaite reports, suspicions were raised when, during the last question of the evening, a student named Brett Rosengren "nervously stumbled," beginning by calling Clinton "Secretary Sanders."
The crowd laughed as Rosengren followed up with, "I can see why they gave you this question."
He then asked, "Which of our previous presidents have inspired you the most?"
The non-controversial nature of the query quickly lit up Twitter with comments about how it was likely prepared in advance to give Hillary an advantage over rivals Bernie Sanders and Martin O’Malley.
But Fleischer believes it was a real and off-the-cuff moment.
"I think sometimes people ask questions as fans…. That's what they do," Fleischer said.
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