Hemmer confronts DNC spokesperson over Flynn 'unmasking': 'I was asking for collusion and I haven't heard it'

Fox News' Bill Hemmer pressed Democratic National Committee spokesperson Xochitl Hinojosa Wednesday about the release of documents showing top Obama administration officials -- including then-Vice President Joe Biden -- purportedly requested to "unmask" the identity of Michael Flynn during the presidential transition period.

"Why would Joe Biden want to know about Michael Flynn back then?" The "Bill Hemmer Reports" host asked Wednesday.

LIST OF OFFICIALS WHO SOUGHT TO 'UNMASK' FLYNN RELEASED

Hinojosa said the release of the list, which also includes then-FBI Director James Comey, then-CIA Director John Brennan, then-Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, and then-White House chief of staff Denis McDonough was just a "distraction" and a tool for Republicans to "continue to politicize the Justice Department" -- but stopped short of answering Hemmer's question.

"Also," Hinojosa added, "unmasking is something that you are just looking to just seem more intelligent. It is nothing that is scandalous in any way but frankly, this is going to backfire on Republicans because it just shows how serious Flynn was in his conversations with the Russians. So Republicans can try to use this to play political football. But in reality, this will backfire."

"Is it a crime to talk to other countries in that period?" Hemmer interjected. "Is that against the law?"

READ THE DOCUMENTS

Hinojosa suggested the former national security adviser was guilty of "trying to interfere" in the 2016 election and "trying to go against the United States" -- an assertion Hemmer was quick to push back on.

"I was looking for a crime and I haven't heard it there. I was asking for collusion and I haven't heard it either."

— Bill Hemmer

"The answer there was a suggestion that there was collusion. There has been no proof of that, where's yours?" he asked. "I will try it one more time, why would Joe Biden want to know about Michael Flynn at that time?"

Hinojosa said she would leave that question "to the investigators," and called for "a new president and ... new Justice Department who will remain independent and ... take into consideration the rule of law before anything else."

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"OK," Hemmer said. "I asked it twice and I didn't hear an answer of proof. I was looking for a crime and I haven't heard it there. I was asking for collusion and I haven't heard it either. It's almost the summer of 2020 and there's no evidence of it."

Later in the interview, Hinojosa alleged that Republican "political operatives" -- specifically Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel were misusing "federal resources" and "taking away PPE [personal protective equipment] from "nurses and doctors" in preparation for the upcoming Republican National Convention in Charlotte.

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