George Zimmerman’s “Friend” Joe Oliver is a fraud

We now know that the man who quit his job in order defend George Zimmerman to the national news media barely knows him.

Joe Oliver, a former CNN anchor, has been making the rounds of cable news and TV talk programs defending Zimmerman, the man who gunned down unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin in Sanford, Florida, Feb. 26.

it is not uncommon for former or current professional talking heads to offer their “services” to victim’s families as “family friends” whenever a major news story explodes into the national conscience the way Trayvon’s shooting has.

You would think that the media would be more forthcoming about the fact that they are interviewing one of their own. But they often don’t because they don’t want to jeopardize their access to the victim’s family.

On Tuesday night, ‘Last Word,’ with host Lawrence O’Donell and his guests The New York Times‘ Charles Blow and The Washington Post‘s Jonathan Capehart, ripped the lid off of Oliver’s claims that he was a “close friend” of Zimmerman’s.

Oliver, couldn't answer basic questions about Zimmerman that a true friend would know.

Lawrence and Blow challenged Oliver's assertions that Oliver knew Zimmerman well enough to be confident that he would not shoot Trayvon in cold blood.

The grilling of Oliver was so Epic that he was trending on Twitter.com before the hourlong segment was even over.

Watch the videos of the Epic grilling of Joe Oliver below.

Also, below, watch a video of Joe Oliver as a young CNN news anchor 2 decades ago.