CNN reporter Manu Raju asked acting Attorney General Todd Blanche about California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s accusations against the Justice Department, only to be cut off by a spokesperson for Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa). (Watch the video below.)

Confused? Don’t be.

Raju was in with other reporters during Blanche’s meeting with Grassley, the Senate Judiciary Committee chair, ahead of Blanche’s confirmation hearing for the official AG position.

So Raju, the news network’s chief congressional correspondent, asked what was on many people’s minds Monday.

“The Justice Department is investigating Gavin Newsom. Can you explain that?” he queried.

Blanche said, “I’m not―” before Grassley told Raju, “This is not a news conference. This is just whatever you―

Raju pressed on. “The governor’s accusing you of political retribution, and the president.”

“I will say―,” Blanche began again. Grassley then turned to his spokesperson, Clare Slattery, to play bad cop. “Am I right, Clare?”

“All right, guys, that’s enough,” she said off-camera before the clip cuts off.

Raju also tried to get a response out of Blanche in a hallway chase. No luck there either.

No response from acting Attorney General Todd Blanche if DOJ is investigating Gov. Gavin Newsom after the California Democrat accused the department of targeting him and his wife pic.twitter.com/ZokANJXGao

Newsom juiced the news cycle by accusing President Donald Trump and the Justice Department of investigating him and his family for political retribution without cause.

“Donald Trump isn’t just coming after me because of my mean tweets,” he said. “He’s coming after me because I am considering running for president.”

But CNN’s Kaitlan Collins said a source disputed part of Newsom’s claim, before airing the Raju clip.

“A source tells CNN tonight that there’s no investigation directly into Newsom himself, but rather the Eastern District of California is leading probes into people close to him,” she said. “That does include his wife, Jennifer Siebel Newsom, over possible tax-related crimes. A source tells our team that Justice Department leadership that was put in place by President Trump was not involved in this investigation’s origin.”

That said, the DOJ has, to many, previously launched vengeance-fueled prosecutions of New York Attorney General Letitia James and former FBI Director James Comey. Trump has brazenly gone after perceived political enemies in his second term, according to reports.

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