As RedState reported earlier, New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers was on the receiving end of a conveniently-timed hit piece from CNN Wednesday, with allegations that he called the 2012 Sandy Hook massacre a government-orchestrated hoax in comments that he allegedly made over a decade ago.

In it, Rodgers, who independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. confirmed Tuesday was on his short list of possible vice presidential picks, was portrayed as someone who "enthusiastically shared these [conspiracy] stories, including with Pamela Brown, one of the journalists writing this piece."

READ: CNN Hit Piece on Decade-Old Alleged Comments From Aaron Rodgers Raises Questions... About CNN

As RedState noted, however, the sourcing for the story was incredibly thin: CNN reporter Pamela Brown (as indicated above) and one opportune "anonymous source" who allegedly had a similar exchange with Rodgers on another occasion and who "CNN... granted anonymity so as to avoid harassment."

The timing and sourcing of the story, as we also pointed out, should be questioned because there is bad blood between CNN, Tapper, and Rodgers stemming in part from Rodgers' January comments about late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel and sexual predator Jeffrey Epstein. 

At the time, Tapper put public pressure on Disney and ESPN to no longer give Rodgers a "forum" with which to spread "false, defamatory, [and] wildly irresponsible" claims -- because apparently that's something only Jake Tapper should be allowed to do.

In an update to this story, Aaron Rodgers has taken to the Twitter machine to respond to the CNN article - and to deny he ever said what they reported he did:

"As I’m on the record saying in the past, what happened in Sandy Hook was an absolute tragedy. I am not and have never been of the opinion that the events did not take place. Again, I hope that we learn from this and other tragedies to identify the signs that will allow us to prevent unnecessary loss of life. My thoughts and prayers continue to remain with the families affected along with the entire Sandy Hook community."

Indeed, here's what Rodgers said about the Sandy Hook tragedy shortly after it happened:

CNN reported Aaron Rodgers denied the Sandy Hook shooting. Here is Rodgers discussing how awful Sandy Hook was on TV in 2012. pic.twitter.com/VCyqbU58UP

— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) March 14, 2024

With his denial - plus that video, Rodgers has now put the onus on CNN to provide proof of their claims, a tall order considering this appears to be a "he said/she said" thing, or more specifically, a "she said, he denied it" thing:

There is literally nothing on record of any of this other than "CNN reporter says"

That's not journalism and @jaketapper knows it. https://t.co/cwhqiyIjXf

— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) March 14, 2024

And considering CNN's rampant credibility issues, even if they do present "proof" there's a high probability that it will be dismissed, because I suspect that most people would be more willing to believe a convicted felon over anything they report at this point.

Flashback: Terry Bradshaw Hits Aaron Rodgers for COVID Vaccine 'Lie' and I Have Thoughts