Corporate Media Predictably Downplays Damning Durham Report
On Monday, Special Counsel John Durham released his long-awaited report on the origins of the FBI’s probe into Trump’s 2016 campaign ties to Russia. Durham determined that the DOJ and FBI “failed to uphold” its mission of “strict fidelity to the law.”
The investigation concluded the FBI operated as a disinformation shop for the Clinton campaign. The FBI tried to rig the election for Hillary Clinton, who still lost.
Call it a smoking gun or a damning piece of evidence that proves corruption within a crucial U.S. institution. Either is accurate.
What's not accurate, however, is the portrayal of the report via the corporate press, an industry that has worked strenuously to undermine the report, with several degrees of deceit.
We first check in with Rachel Maddow, the queen of liberal media. The Chief Russian Hoaxer didn't find the report worthy of a lead story on Monday. Rather, Ms. Maddow lead the program with a man who attacked a Democratic staffer with a baseball bat:
Maddow eventually found airtime to discuss Durham's report, where she called it a "dud." She did not include the finding of a confirmation bias within the FBI during her rant.
Her colleague, Joe Scarborough, took a similar approach, calling findings of election interference "a "four-year taxpayer-funded boondoggle."
Over at CNN, the network summoned so-called "legal expert" Jennifer Rodgers. Rodgers ignored Hillary Clinton's role in election interference and declared the report "a whole big nothing."
The FBI spewing election disinformation on behalf of Hillary is no big deal, says CNN.
On the broadcast networks, ABC and NBC shared eerily similar talking points. Both networks dismissed the report, claiming a probe into Trump's relationship with Russia was needed.
Here's ABC Chief Justice correspondent Pierre Thomas's spin on the matter:
"The so-called Steele Dossier of allegations prepared by former British spy Christopher Steele. Durham found the “FBI was not able to corroborate a single substantive allegation” from the dossier. But Trump's own comments about Russia in the campaign added to questions about possible collusion."
As NewsBusters reports, NBC's so-called "CIA reporter" Ken Dilanian put out the false claim that the Durham report “follows this 2019 report by the Justice Department's inspector general, which found that the FBI made mistakes but was justified in opening the Trump investigation."
Good on Dilanian to stay on brand. NBC appreciates his efforts.
Perhaps the only mainstream voice to cover the report differently was CNN anchor Jake Tapper. He responded to the news in real-time, declaring the Durham report "devastating to the FBI and to a degree, it does exonerate Donald Trump."
Why Tapper needed to insert the "to a degree" is unclear. Put simply, the report exonerates Donald Trump entirely.
But at least Tapper acknowledged the reality the report paints of the FBI.
When we get past the FBI and Clinton, a crucial conversation about the media's role in promulgating the Russia hoax ought to take place.
The media stoke the flame, vehemently ensuring viewers that Trump colluded with Russia and that the latter, not China, is the ultimate threat to the nation.
The Durham report is a damning indictment on the FBI, Clinton, the Obamas, and the corporate media.