Kentucky Governor Drags Scott Jennings Into Mitch McConnell Demand

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear has called out CNN commentator Scott Jennings over his links to the Mitch McConnell mystery—while live on the network.

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Beshear, 48, wrote a letter to Kentucky Republican McConnell, 84, on Monday, demanding he prove he is still capable of serving in the U.S. Senate, or resign.

Beshear also wrote to Senate Majority Leader John Thune, asking him to “investigate” McConnell’s condition and “begin the process if warranted,” of replacing him.

The governor appeared on CNN’s The Source with Kaitlan Collins on Tuesday, and said he had no response to his letter, which is now the second piece of correspondence he has sent since McConnell was hospitalized on June 14.

“I respect everyone’s privacy, especially with their health,” Beshear said. “But when you run for these types of offices, you give up some of that privacy. You know that when you run.”

After noting McConnell’s “duty to the people of Kentucky” to prove he can still do his job, Beshear referenced CNN’s Scott Jennings, who claimed that he had a phone conversation with McConnell on July 7.

“Listen, if he supposedly had a 17-minute conversation with Scott Jennings, he can call in and have a three-minute conversation with you,” Beshear told Collins. “He can go to camera and just let us know he’s doing all right, which is what we all ultimately hope for.”

He added, “But it is incumbent upon him to have enough respect for the people of Kentucky and the United States of America to do the bare minimum and be honest and transparent.”

Beshear circled back to Jennings later in the interview, telling Collins, “To be fair, Scott Jennings works for CNN. He can on-air dial him up, put him on speakerphone, and we can put all the speculation to rest.”

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Collins pointed out that Jennings declined to call McConnell on air when asked by CNN anchor Kasie Hunt.

When pressed about whether he spoke to McConnell about his health, Jennings told Hunt on July 7, “I only know, frankly, what has been reported or what his office has said. So this was, it was a personal, private call. But I didn‘t, I didn‘t probe him too deeply for his medical records.”

Beshear said the new proof-of-life photo “stoked even more speculation that’s out there,” and that people have “become increasingly concerned.”

He added, “We don’t have any timetable for when he might get back.”

The governor also noted that he had received comments online that he should personally “try to storm the hospital,” to get clarity on McConnell’s health.

“I’m in Kentucky. John Thune is in Washington. D.C.. This is somebody he talks to on a regular basis. At the very least, he can give us a report on what he’s heard,” Beshear said.

He added of Thune, “He won’t investigate one of his own, won’t walk right across town, won’t be able to look in the camera and say, `One of my fellow Republican senators has the ability to continue. And I think so little of the American people. I won’t find out for sure’. That’s pretty shameful.

Beshear said he expects transparency from any politician who has been away from their job for an extended period, “and I expect that for a Democrat or a Republican.”

He also said McConnell’s case reinforces the need for term limits, saying being a senator should not be seen as a “career.”