After ignoring for three weeks House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's denial she was briefed by the CIA about how water-boarding was being used, only to decide it was news on Thursday when Pelosi at a press conference accused the CIA of “lying” and of “misleading” the Congress, on Friday the CBS and NBC evening newscasts fell silent again despite the backlash from CIA Director Leon Panetta, a former Democratic Congressman. He issued an emphatic statement about how “it is not our policy or practice to mislead Congress” and declaring: “CIA officers briefed truthfully on the interrogation of Abu Zubaida, describing the 'enhanced techniques that had been employed.'”
That was enough of a news hook for ABC's World News to make it the Friday night lead, as fill-in anchor George Stephanopoulos teased his top story: “Tonight, firing back: The CIA Director toe-to-toe with the Speaker. He says Congress was told the truth about interrogations.” Reporter Jonathan Karl recounted how Panetta is “pushing back hard against the Speaker of the House” and that Republicans are raising her hypocrisy in advocating punishment for those who authorized a technique of which she was aware.
He concluded by undermining her latest spin of claiming she was misled by Bush administration political operatives.
“Speaker Pelosi is now doing some damage control,” Karl reported, reading her assertion: “My criticism of the manner of which the Bush administration did not appropriately inform Congress is separate from my respect for those in the intelligence community who work to keep our country safe.” But, Karl noted: “It is important to point out that those who briefed Speaker Pelosi at that September [2002] briefing were career intelligence officers, these were not political operatives from the Bush administration.”
Yet not even that mendacious blame-shifting prompted a syllable from CBS or NBC. It's a pretty sad state of affairs when the newscast anchored by a former Democratic political operative is the one willing to highlight news deleterious to a top liberal Democrat.
With Jeff Glor in the anchor seat on Thursday, CBS, like ABC and NBC, aired full stories on Pelosi's accusations against the CIA. (For a rundown of Thursday night and Friday morning Pelosi coverage by ABC, CBS and NBC, check the earlier NB post by Rich Noyes: “After Three Weeks, Pelosi's Anti-CIA Rant Pushes Nets to Action.”)
Katie Couric was back in the anchor chair on Friday, however, and the newscast skipped Pelosi's evolving explanations about what she knew when and Panetta's rejoinder. The CBS Evening News led with GM's dealer closings and devoted nearly four minutes to Couric previewing/plugging her upcoming Sunday 60 Minutes segment with Secretary of Defense Bill Gates and spent two minutes on how the favorite in Saturday's Preakness is a female -- and that was all before the closing story on the proper pronunciation and spelling of Lake Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg in Webster, Massachusetts.
The Lester Holt-anchored NBC Nightly News, which had transmission problems in its 7 PM EDT feed so 10-20 second chunks of it did not air in Washington, DC (but I saw no hint of anything about Pelosi), did run an unusual story on the plight of Christians in Iraq, but also allocated two minutes to plugging a prime time documentary on the dying Farrah Fawcett and, like CBS, featured a full piece on the Preakness. Also, matching CBS, NBC began with GM.
—Brent Baker is Vice President for Research and Publications at the Media Research Center
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The Network Reaction in a Nutshell
May 15, 2009 - 20:32 ET by allanf... it must be Bush's fault. Let's have a special prosecutor to investigate Bush.
allanf... I ditto
May 15, 2009 - 20:46 ET by bigtimerallanf...
I ditto that.
What more can one say?
Typical msm.
Don't ask...Don't tell...is their motto...as long as it involves a democrat.
Doubling down on stupid is not a particularly good idea. ~Andrew Breitbart
BT
May 15, 2009 - 21:06 ET by RukusI ditto your ditto! Well said indead!
Gary
Gettin' along is so much easier than buttin' heads. - My Dad
And funner too! - Me
Plame on ...
May 15, 2009 - 21:02 ET by 10ksnookerLook at the 2010 commericals this will spawn .... There is a gold mind in yesterday's debacle.
The Speaker of the House
May 15, 2009 - 21:13 ET by motherbeltThe Speaker of the House and the head of the CIA are firing accusations of "Liar" at each other, and that's not worth a blurb on the news?
They are an absolute disgrace.
Aside: I grew up near that lake, and I know how to pronounce it!
Tradition says it's from the Nipmuc Indian language and translates: You fish on your side, I fish on my side, no one fishes in the middle.
They might say "Wow, that sucks!" But at least they'll say "Wow!" -Duff Goldman, the Ace of Cakes
They realized how dangerous the truth is.
May 15, 2009 - 21:09 ET by superconThey let a little bit slip through last night and look at all the damage it caused. They forgot rule# 1.
Never report bad on a Democrat.
Hey Janet Napolitano...I'm proud to be a Right-winger.
Too late now. Pelosi will
May 15, 2009 - 22:34 ET by kgToo late now. Pelosi will find herself under the bus here real soon. Someone is going to have to pay and since she hasn't exactly been a shining star she has been chosen to take one for the team.
"DumbAssity of Dope"
Re the bus
May 15, 2009 - 23:24 ET by slickwillie2001She never has been much of a star imho. Her stupidity seems accepted by others in Congress, her aides have admitted as much off-the-record. I think she was elected as Speaker as an affirmative action move, a sop to the feminazis.
And Obama will say: That's
May 16, 2009 - 06:23 ET by motherbeltAnd Obama will say: That's not the Nancy Pelosi I knew....
They might say "Wow, that sucks!" But at least they'll say "Wow!" -Duff Goldman, the Ace of Cakes
The folks at the White
May 15, 2009 - 22:49 ET by maggieqpublicThe folks at the White House need to pick up the pace… and distribute the talking points to NBC/CBS in a more timely manner.
C’mon, Rahm, will the MSM be supporting Nancy, or are they ready for Steny?
WOW!
May 15, 2009 - 23:16 ET by jondelwicheWho can stand with Pelosi the Liar? This is beyond ugly! Thank god, she isnt a Republican or the news cycle would be 24/7 to dump her!
Pain is my prediction for America in 2009.
maggie... ...and just
May 15, 2009 - 23:23 ET by bigtimermaggie...
...and just think of the money that would be saved with Pelosi not using the tax-payers money on her jaunts to Ca. and back or where-ever else she wants to go.
Oh, and you know that Hoyer is grinning from ear to ear with all of this...and I am putting that politely.
Doubling down on stupid is not a particularly good idea. ~Andrew Breitbart
tired of liberal
May 16, 2009 - 00:24 ET by stunnedtired of liberal lies
Gibbs will make ABC pay...don't even think about asking a question.
Old history with Panetta could have an anti-republican twist
May 16, 2009 - 01:14 ET by legacyrepublicanYou know, I don't think it has hit the media yet, but Panetta used to be a Republican. Early in his political career, he tested the wind and he did an Arlen Spectical also claiming the Republican party had lost its way etc, etc, etc.
I wonder if that will play into Obama's plans for Pelosi? Sounds like they are testing the waters and will use Panetta to turn the MSM on her in order to move O's agenda forward.
From O's point of view, allowing a rebuke from a man like Panetta who turned against the Republicans ( again, read big time traitor!) could be used to shut her up and toss her out of the Speaker's chair without harming O's creditability.
What I am saying is that if this moves to page one, it will be Obama throwing her under the bus.
In order to be ready for that, I would suggest researching Panetta a little more. He had close ties to the corrupt check scandals and some of Clinton's baggage which is why he withdrew and hid in Monterey until called back by Obama.
He has been under the radar for 8 years. But, as good Republicans, we should be ready not to forget what Panetta, the traitor, did to the party any more than what a certain VT or PA senator did to the party.
Payback...Thy Name is Hillary
May 16, 2009 - 15:22 ET by Tyler DurbinLeon Panetta has always been a loyal Clinton man, so it doesn’t surprise me to see him roll Pelosi under the bus. Not only did Pelosi support Obama in the Democratic primary election, but she’s a woman higher in the line of succession for the Presidency.
I don’t think HRC is disappointed at all to see the Speaker knocked down a few notches. She may even be complicit in the process.
"Hey Lama! How about a little something (you know) for the effort?"
The Speaker of the House
May 16, 2009 - 10:56 ET by buddycThe Speaker of the House claims the CIA not only lied to her but that it is a crime to do so. The democrat appointed and long time partisan hack, head of the CIA says his review of the contemporaneous reports indicates the CIA was truthful with the Speaker.
Objective questions like "why would the CIA discuss enhanced interrogation unless they indended to use it" seem to cast doubt on the Speakers claims.
Steny Hoyer (sp) and the White House won't back up the Speaker.
THAT is the biggest domestic political story in probably 6 years and NBC and CBS ignore it?
My guess CBS, NBC and ABC talked and decided to bury it with only one of the 3 to report it so it was not overly obvious they are shills for the DNC. ABC drew the long straw.
It is a national disgrace that they are not reporting this.
Why is Pelosi Alone on This?
May 16, 2009 - 15:59 ET by slickwillie2001Why aren't other democratics that were at the same briefings that Princess Nan was, being brought into this kerfuffle? They must be hiding in their offices. If the CIA leaks some briefing minutes, watch for the list of those in attendance. They might not have prevaricated in the same way Pelosi has, but this all started because it turns out Pelosi was there and knew what was going on, and democratics now want to investigate administration officials and CIA ops that carried out the procedures.
The Senate has corresponding committees that would have received the same briefings. Why nothing there?
Isn't it amaizing?
May 17, 2009 - 10:05 ET by CobraManIsn't it amazing? For over four year I've heard liberals like Nancy complain that Bush lied about WMD's in Iraq. Never ONE did they even suggest that the intel may have been wrong, that the CIA may have LIED to Bush. Now, since she's in the "lying" spotlight, Nancy is claiming that the CIA is staffed with liers, that they lied to her! Hay, Nancy, if the CIA lied to Congress about waterboarding, as you claim, couldn't they have lied to Bush, and Congress, about WMD's too? I think you owe Bush an apology, don't you?
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