The network media’s blackout of the IRS scandal continued on Wednesday night with zero mentions of the Senate hearing held hours before as well as a threat issued by a federal judge to hold IRS commissioner John Koskinen and Department of Justice (DOJ) attorneys in contempt of court concerning Lois Lerner’s e-mails.
As usual, the Fox News Channel (FNC) newscast Special Report provided coverage that the “big three” of ABC, CBS, and NBC and Spanish-language networks Telemundo and Univision did not and led its Wednesday show with a full story from chief congressional correspondent Mike Emanuel.
Host Bret Baier explained prior to Emanuel’s piece that “Koskinen is already one of the country's most disliked bureaucrats” and was “definitely feeling no love on Capitol Hill” Wednesday as “Senate Republican went after him for what they see as institutional indifference to the scandal over the targeting of conservative groups by his agency.”
Emanuel then picked up from there and reported:
With conservatives frustrated about the lack of accountability following the IRS targeting of tea party and other groups, Texas Senator and presidential candidate Ted Cruz convened a subcommittee hearing grilling Commissioner John Koskinen.
Along with multiple soundbites from Cruz, Emanuel mentioned that Koskinen took his current position “seven months after the scandal broke” and that Wednesday’s hearing “was his first visit to Capitol Hill since House Oversight Republicans sent this 30-page letter to President Obama on Monday demanding that he be removed from his job as commissioner.”
Emanuel mentioned the continued support for Koskinen and the IRS from the White House and later concluded with brief summary of another development in the scandal concerning the possibility that Koskinen and other federal officials could be held in contempt of court:
Patience is also wearing thin with U.S. District Court Judge Emmitt Sullivan. He's threatening to hold Koskinen and Justice Department attorneys in contempt of court for failing to produce status reports and Lois Lerner e-mails.
Instead of giving this story even a news brief, the networks continued their obsession over the shooting death of the African lion with full reports on ABC’s World News Tonight, the CBS Evening News, and NBC Nightly News. All told, the networks spent another five minutes and 25 seconds on the story (with the total rising to five minutes and 55 seconds with four teases).
On Wednesday afternoon, the Media Research Center’s Katie Yoder reported that the networks spent “more than 14 minutes” on Cecil the lion’s death across their Tuesday night and Wednesday morning newscasts but spent only 11 minutes and 11 seconds on the Planned Parenthood video scandal (with zero seconds of coverage on the third video that was released on Tuesday).
The relevant portions of the transcript from FNC’s Special Report with Bret Baier on July 29 can be found below.
FNC’s Special Report with Bret Baier
July 29, 2015
6:00 p.m. Eastern[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE CAPTION: Capitol Grill]
BRET BAIER: By virtue of his job as America's tax man, John Koskinen is already one of the country's most disliked bureaucrats, but today, the IRS commissioner was definitely feeling no love on Capitol Hill. Senate Republican went after him for what they see as institutional indifference to the scandal over the targeting of conservative groups by his agency. Chief congressional correspondent Mike Emanuel has tonight's top story.
MIKE EMANUEL: With conservatives frustrated about the lack of accountability following the IRS targeting of tea party and other groups, Texas Senator and presidential candidate Ted Cruz convened a subcommittee hearing grilling Commissioner John Koskinen.
REPUBLICAN SENATOR TED CRUZ (Tex.): In the 806 days that has followed, has anyone been indicted?
IRS COMMISSIONER JOHN KOSKINEN: No.
CRUZ: Has anyone been fired?
KOSKINEN: There have been – at this point, the five major people starting with the commissioner on down through the director of exempt organizations are all new. Everyone else is gone.
(....)
EMANUEL: Koskinen took over the IRS seven months after the scandal broke. This was his first visit to Capitol Hill since House Oversight Republicans sent this 30-page letter to President Obama on Monday demanding that he be removed from his job as commissioner. Lawmakers say Koskinen had a duty to preserve and then produce approximately 24,000 e-mails from former official Lois Lerner, but note the IRS, under his leadership, has failed to do so.
(....)
EMANUEL: At White House, spokesman Eric Schultz expressed continued support for Koskinen.
DEPUTY WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY ERIC SCHULTZ: His decades of experience turning around both public and private institutions continue to make him the right person to lead this agency.
EMANUEL: Senators also heard from representatives of conservative groups who had their lives turned upside down by extra scrutiny from the IRS. Patience is also wearing thin with U.S. District Court Judge Emmitt Sullivan. He's threatening to hold Koskinen and Justice Department attorneys in contempt of court for failing to produce status reports and Lois Lerner e-mails.
