After spending the first two days of the week pretending the WikiLeaks flood wasn’t happening ABC’s World News Tonight finally covered it on Wednesday. But what was it that finally drew their attention to the e-mails. Was it the State Department allegedly marking certain organizations as “Friend of Bill,” or was it the Hillary Clinton campaign aide who was allegedly getting information about the investigation from the Department of Justice? It was neither. “And at least one of them, already making headlines. What a top campaign official allegedly said about Latinos,” hyped Anchor David Muir.
Bizarrely, ABC reporter Cecilia Vega began her WikiLeaks report talking about how Ohio and Florida were already voting and Clinton’s get out the vote effort. “The stakes so high, Clinton telling The New York Times, “I'm the last thing standing between you and the apocalypse,”” Vega repeated before finally getting to the leaked e-mails.
Before diving into the content of the leaked e-mails, Vega first warned the viewers by noting, “ABC News has not authenticated these e-mails.” “In one e-mail, [John] Podesta urges Clinton to reach out to three prominent Latino politicians, including former New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, saying, quote, “Needy Latinos and one easy call,”” she reported. The controversial comment seemed to be more dis aimed at the politicians in question rather than Latinos as a whole, as Muir had hyped at the start of the segment.
One of the bigger e-mails from Wednesday’s dump which went unreported by ABC, but was reported by CBS and NBC, was a Clinton aide allegedly slamming the Catholic faith and evangelicals. Reporter Nancy Cordes gave the most detailed account of the e-mail’s contents on CBS Evening News:
The Trump campaign seized on this e-mail from 2011 in which Jennifer Palmieri, who would go on to become Clinton's communications director, mused about a report that News Corp Chairman Rupert Murdoch was raising his children catholic. "I imagine they think it is the most socially acceptable conservative religion," wrote Palmieri. "Their rich friends wouldn't understand if they became evangelicals."
Both CBS and NBC reported that Palmieri denied she had sent the e-mail and that she is Catholic. “I'm a Catholic, I don't recognize that email that we saw. And this whole effort is led by the Russians,” she explained.
In addition, both Spanish-language Univision and Telemundo also failed to report on their principal evening newscasts about the slamming of the Catholic and Evangelical Christian faith inside the Clinton campaign, a development that one would think is certainly relevant to many in their audiences, given that the vast majority of U.S. Latinos are one or the other.
Transcripts below:
ABC
World News Tonight
October 12, 2016
6:37:40 PM EasternDAVID MUIR: And now to Hillary Clinton and the WikiLeaks trail. More than 1,000 new e-mails dumped today alone. And at least one of them, already making headlines. What a top campaign official allegedly said about Latinos. And look at this tonight. Images coming in from Ohio. Early voting began today in that key battleground, and voters were lined up. These pictures from Cincinnati alone. ABC's Cecilia Vega in California tonight, where the Clinton team is responding to the WikiLeaks e-mails, now saying the FBI is investigating who is behind this.
[Cuts to video]
CECILIA VEGA: They started lining up to vote in Ohio today, stacks of ballots ready to go in Florida. In nearly half of the country, voting is already under way. Hillary Clinton driving that message home in Colorado.
HILLARY CLINTON: And, you know, your vote can make all the difference.
VEGA: The stakes so high, Clinton telling The New York Times, “I'm the last thing standing between you and the apocalypse.” Her team now trying to find its footing, after WikiLeaks released thousands of Campaign Chairman John Podesta's hacked e-mails. Nearly 1,200 today alone, exposing the inner workings of the Clinton campaign. ABC News has not authenticated these e-mails. Trump today, pouncing.
DONALD TRUMP: The WikiLeaks e-mails show that Hillary Clinton's staff even has to give her secret notes on when she needs to smile. Smile, Hillary, smile.
VEGA: In one e-mail, Podesta urges Clinton to reach out to three prominent Latino politicians, including former New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, saying, quote, “Needy Latinos and one easy call.” Podesta blaming the Russians, saying they are conspiring to help Trump. The FBI now investigating. Vladimir Putin today asking, is it really that important who did it? It's important what is inside of this information. Trump brushing off the attacks.
TRUMP: You ever notice, anything that goes wrong, they blame Russia. Russia did it. They have no idea. And then they say, Donald Trump is friends with Putin. I don't know, Putin, folks, I promise.
VEGA: But he recently questioned whether there were any hacks to begin with.
TRUMP: Maybe there is no hacking.
[Cuts back to live]
MUIR: And Cecilia Vega live in Colorado tonight. And there was another headline today. Cecilia, we've seen in recent days, Hillary Clinton embracing her 30-year record, even during the debate there. Tonight, Trump's surrogate Rudy Giuliani with a question about where Clinton was during a key moment?
VEGA: That's right, David. Rudy Giuliani saying today that he doesn't remember seeing Hillary Clinton at -- that he heard Hillary Clinton say that she was at ground zero on 9/11, he doesn't remember seeing her there. But take a look at these photos, critics were quick to pull these from the internet. The two of them together, right there at ground zero. These were taken the day after 9/11, it is wildly known that Hillary Clinton was in Washington on the day of the attacks, David. It does not appear that she has ever publicly said she was at ground zero on 9/11.
MUIR: Cecilia Vega with us tonight. Cecilia, thank you.
CBS
Evening News
October 12, 2016
6:33:48 PM EasternSCOTT PELLEY: Now we'll go to Nancy Cordes, covering the Clinton campaign, and today's leaked e-mails.
[Cuts to video]
HILLARY CLINTON: His campaign said today that they're going to use a quote "Scorched Earth" strategy for the remaining four weeks of this race.
NANCY CORDES: In Pueblo Colorado today, Clinton called Trump's new tact a sign of desperation.
CLINTON: It’s all they have left, pure negativity.
CORDES: But WikiLeaks is now giving Trump daily ammunition, posting today another 1900 e-mails it says come from the hacked account of Clinton Campaign Chairman John Podesta.
DONALD TRUMP: This WikiLeaks stuff is unbelievable
CORDES: In one purported exchange from May of last year, top aide Huma Abedin wrote that Clinton was worried that, "Questions about the foundation and e-mails" were overshadowing speeches laying out her proposals. "Can we survive not answering questions from press at message events?" Podesta responded, "If she thinks can get to Labor Day without taking press questions, I think that's suicidal."
The Trump campaign seized on this e-mail from 2011 in which Jennifer Palmieri, who would go on to become Clinton's communications director, mused about a report that News Corp Chairman Rupert Murdoch was raising his children catholic. "I imagine they think it is the most socially acceptable conservative religion," wrote Palmieri. "Their rich friends wouldn't understand if they became evangelicals."
TRUMP: They attack Catholics and evangelicals. Viciously.
CORDES: I asked Palmieri about criticism coming from the GOP. Some of them are even saying that you should step down. Do you have any reaction to that?
JENNIFER PALMIERI: I'm a Catholic. I don't recognize that e-mail that we saw. And this whole effort is led by the Russians.
[Cuts to video]
CORDES: Vladimir Putin insisted that his country would have nothing to gain from hacking Democrats' e-mails but asked whether it's really important to know who did it, the Clinton campaign says yes and is comparing the hack tonight, Scott, to the Watergate break-in.
PELLEY: Nancy Cordes for us tonight. Nancy, thank you.
