CNN hires DC officer who testified to Jan. 6 committee

CNN has hired Michael Fanone, the former Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Police Department officer who was assaulted during the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol and testified before Congress about his experience that day. 

Fanone will join the network as a law enforcement analyst, the outlet announced on Monday, and was welcomed by host Don Lemon on his nightly prime-time show. 

He resigned from the Metro Police Department last month and has publicly criticized lawmakers and others who downplayed the significance of the attack. 

“Clearly there are some members of our department who feel their oath is to Donald Trump and not to the Constitution,” Fanone said at the time of his resignation. 

Fanone, who suffered a heart attack during the Jan. 6 attack, was previously a contributor to CNN and has appeared regularly on the network in recent months to speak about his experience during the ordeal. 

“Some of the terminology that was used, like ‘hugs and kisses’ and ‘very fine people,’ is very different from what I experienced and what my co-workers experienced on the 6th,” Fanone said during an appearance on the network last spring. “I think it’s dangerous. It is very much not the experience I had on the 6th. I experienced a group of individuals who were trying to kill me to accomplish their goal.”

Former Officer Michael Fanone joins @donlemon tonight as CNN’s newest Law Enforcement Analyst.

Fanone talks about the attack on the Capitol and what it means to him one year later. Watch: pic.twitter.com/E4K918BZ4D

— Don Lemon Tonight (@DonLemonTonight) January 4, 2022