Chris Matthews: I Never Heard of Congressional Insider Trading Until Obama Mentioned it Tonight

The ignorance of television news anchors is at times breathtaking.

Chris Matthews, a man with two nationally televised programs, said Tuesday night on MSNBC that until President Obama brought it up during the State of the Union address, he had never heard of Congressional insider trading (video follows with transcript and commentary):

CHRIS MATTHEWS, HOST, HARDBALL: Well, there were so many points to this speech, I think you're right about the optimism and call to duty and patriotic cooperation and on a common mission. I thought all that was part of, if you will, the confection of the speech, the structure of it.

But, there were very interesting shots in it, I thought. One of them was this thing that came out of nowhere, to me, having worked up there for all those years and covered it, insider trading by members of Congress. I mean, they must have -- the wind must have come out of them when they heard that. Here's an attack, it's an attack, institutionally against them that there is some sort of insider trading going on up there where they're benefiting from their knowledge of what's going on in committee work, and going off and investing quickly in some sort of day trading or whatever on stocks.

I have never heard any reference to it before in my life. Anything can go on as far as I know, but to make that kind of direct shot on national television with this huge audience, suggesting he knows where they live. As I said before tonight, he's got something on them, he's about to use against them.

I thought it was basically a preparation for a Harry Truman style campaign this fall. He's going to run against Congress as an institution, not just the filibuster, not just the foot dragging and the scorched earth, but the institution itself, its morality. I mean, insider trading, that was tough stuff. And I wonder what he's up to, if he's got something that he's going to work on here.

But I'll tell you, the members of Congress and their wives, their spouses must have heard that. And tonight, when they go home, they must be saying, "What's this, the president's talking about, insider trading on Capitol Hill. Do you know something about it, dear?" I think it was a wild statement, I want to know what's behind it.

The ignorance on display here by a cable news anchor with decades in the business was almost unimaginable.

As NewsBusters reported, CBS's 60 Minutes in November did an entire segment about this issue revealed in Peter Schweizer's book Throw Them All Out.

The online liberal media went crazy over the report led by the Huffington Post which attacked 60 Minutes for having the nerve to involve former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) in its allegations of misconduct.

In fairness, this matter didn't get as much coverage at the time as it should have; Schweizer told NewsBusters in December he felt that was because this was a bipartisan scandal and the media likely were uncomfortable bringing up anything before the elections that could look embarrassing for Democrats.

That certainly wouldn't fit with the Left's finger-pointing at what they like to call a do nothing Republican Congress.

As NewsBusters discussed with Schweizer, with the exception of MSNBC's Dylan Ratigan, Matthews' network totally ignored this story when it first broke.

Two months later, the Hardball host says, "I want to know what's behind it."

Will he feel that way when he learns that most of the guilty parties named in Schweizer's book were Democrats including Pelosi and former presidential candidate John Kerry?

(H/T Breitbart TV)

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