GMA's Cuomo Offers Visual Aid in Continuing Campaign Against Gonzales

Photo of Scott Whitlock.

On Tuesday’s "Good Morning America," anchor Chris Cuomo used a none-to-subtle visual aid to continue the program’s campaign to have Attorney General Alberto Gonzales fired over the Justice Department’s dismissal of eight U.S. Attorneys. Early in the 7am hour, co-host Robin Roberts introduced Cuomo, who stood at the news desk with stacks of paper, meant to represent the 3000 pages of documents released on the case, piled half way to his shoulders:

Roberts: "Look at all that you have there, Chris." [Roberts points to a huge stack of papers that Cuomo has piled on his news desk.]

Chris Cuomo: "You see this stack of paper? Very relevant today. Good morning to you and good morning, everyone. The number of the day is 3,000. That's how many pages, just like this, the Justice Department handed out overnight. They offer an up-close look inside the controversial firing of eight federal prosecutors."

It’s more than a little odd to turn a news segment into show-and-tell.

The piece, which aired at 7:03am on March 20, featured an onscreen graphic wondering if the documents represented a "smoking gun," the third time in less than a week that GMA used such a phrase. Reporter Pierre Thomas, who last week hyperbolically described the Attorney General  as "hunkered down with his closest advisors," and in "a fight for survival," reported on the story:

7:01am tease

Diane Sawyer: "Overnight news, too."

Robin Roberts: "Yes. 3000 new e-mails released by the Justice Department. A trail showing just how far reaching the concern was inside the Justice Department over those firings of U.S. Attorneys. More bad news for the Attorney General."

7:03am

Sawyer: "But let’s begin the morning’s news with Chris Cuomo at the news desk."

Roberts: "Look at all that you have there, Chris." [Roberts points to a huge stack of papers that Cuomo has piled his news desk.]

Chris Cuomo: "You see this stack of paper? Very relevant today. Good morning to you and good morning, everyone. The number of the day is 3,000. That's how many pages, just like this, the Justice Department handed out overnight. They offer an up-close look inside the controversial firing of eight federal prosecutors. Pierre Thomas joins us from the Justice Department now. Pierre, tell us about it."

ABC Graphic: "New Docs in Atty Firings: Is There A Smoking Gun?"

Pierre Thomas: "Hi, Chris. Those e-mails provide some insights into why those U.S. Attorneys were fired. But it is unclear whether they will help the Attorney General keep his job. Late last night, roughly 3,000 pages of Justice Department documents about the firing of U.S. Attorneys were provided to congressional investigators. The e-mails show one of the men at the center of the controversy appeared very concerned about Senators wanting to investigate the matter. Kyle Sampson, the Attorney General's former chief of staff, allegedly wrote this e-mail about whether fired U.S. Attorney Bud Cummins should testify before Congress. Cummins was replaced as a U.S. Attorney in Arkansas by an associate of White House advisor Karl Rove. Sampson wrote, ‘I don’t think he, Cummins, should testify. How would he answer? Did you resign voluntarily? Were you told why you were being asked to resign?’ The documents suggest Gonzales was generally aware of the plan to remove U.S. Attorneys, but he maintains he was not intimately involved."

Norm Ornstein (American Enterprise Institute): "The Attorney General was in a position where either he lied directly about his involvement or he was clueless about what his own chief of staff was doing right underneath his own nose."

Thomas: "The e-mails also make clear that, at least initially, the fired U.S. Attorneys were given no justification for their dismissals. Margaret Chiara, the U.S. Attorney for the Western district of Michigan, at one point wrote, ‘I need to know the truth to live in peace with the aftermath.’"

Victoria Toensing (Fmr. Assistant Deputy Attorney General): "To mess this up by smearing the reputations of people who have dedicated a certain amount of years to public service is inexcusable."

Thomas: "Justice officials say the e-mails show that the firings were legitimate. But sources say the documents also show that some prosecutors were ranked based on loyalty to President Bush."

It’s also interesting to note that Victoria Toensing appeared in the piece to criticize Gonzales. Yet, last week, when Toensing testified against Valerie Plame in the CIA leak case, GMA simply ignored her. Perhaps GMA found criticism of a Republican administration more palatable than that of a liberal icon such as Plame.

—Scott Whitlock is a news analyst for the Media Research Center.


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Here is another twist to this

Here is another twist to this story you won't see on GMA-American Thinker today has a piece by DC lawyer Clarice Feldman, who has discovered that Jimmy Carter actually fired a US Attorney in the middle of his term:

http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2007/03/selective_amnesia_on_firing_us.html

Hey, Look at all these UNSOLD

Hey, Look at all these UNSOLD NewsPapers..........the USA today, NYT, Globe, Post, there must be thousands of unsold papers just since Last night.

Anyplace you go, Panera Bread, Grocery Store, Starbucks, you see ALL these Unsold Papers lying around.   "Look at what you have here all around America, Chris"  ....."You see this Stack of PAPER ? Very relevant to today".

This has to be significant? ?   

At Times like these, it becomes more than just a Moral Obligation to express ones opinion, it becomes a Pleasure.

Alberto should go ahead and s

Alberto should go ahead and say he's an Illegal Immigrant, then the liberals will adore him and give him government handouts for FREE! If they still want him ousted, we can call the liberals xenophobic! :D

Better yet, a homosexual il

Better yet, a homosexual illegal immigrant.

"Better yet, a homosex

"Better yet, a homosexual illegal immigrant."

...with AIDS!

"There are two types of people in this country; those who provide freedom and those who enjoy it." MM says...

"Better yet, a homosex

"Better yet, a homosexual illegal immigrant."

...with AIDS!

who is really a gay woman trapped in a man's body...

The answer is socialism. But only if the question is:

"What's the fastest way to impoverish, enslave and destroy people?"

Gonzales may not be an illega

Gonzales may not be an illegal but he has done more to help illegals than any AG in history. As Glenn Beck said tonight, the list of U.S. Attorneys who were fired should have started and ended with Gonzales and Bush's pal, Johnny Sutton.

Don't shed any tears for Gonzales. He's no conservative and a lousy AG.

From the Democrats

Here we have the son of a Democrat lengend (at least in his own mind) Chris Cuomo, with a stack of papers. 

Well if the Republicans had a list we would hear:

 

I have here in my hand a list of two hundred and five people that were known to the Secretary of State as being members of the Communist Party and who nevertheless are still working and shaping the policy of the State Department.
Joseph McCarthy

Strangely enough


All the papers read....

"All work and no play Make Chris a dull boy". "All work and no play Make Chris a dull boy". "All work and no play Make Chris a dull boy"."All work and no play Make Chris a dull boy"."All work and no play Make Chris a dull boy"."All work and no play Make Chris a dull boy"."All work and no play Make Chris a dull boy"."All work and no play Make Chris a dull boy"."All work and no play Make Chris a dull boy"."All work and no play Make Chris a dull boy"."All work and no play Make Chris a dull boy"."All work and no play Make Chris a dull boy"."All work and no play Make Chris a dull boy"."All work and no play Make Chris a dull boy"."All work and no play Make Chris a dull boy"."All work and no play Make Chris a dull boy"."All work and no play Make Chris a dull boy"."All work and no play Make Chris a dull boy"."All work and no play Make Chris a dull boy"."All work and no play Make Chris a dull boy"."All work and no play Make Chris a dull boy"."All work and no play Make Chris a dull boy"."All work and no play Make Chris a dull boy"."All work and no play Make Chris a dull boy"."All work and no play Make Chris a dull boy"."All work and no play Make Chris a dull boy"."All work and no play Make Chris a dull boy"."All work and no play Make Chris a dull boy"."All work and no play Make Chris a dull boy"."All work and no play Make Chris a dull boy"."All work and no play Make Chris a dull boy"."All work and no play Make Chris a dull boy".

Fatuous and puerile.

Fatuous and puerile.

I have a question. Why is t

I have a question. Why is the prop representing the "records" resemble 5,000 rather than 3,000? Also worthy of note is that the MSM didn't even concider scrutinizing this controversial story. They get went with it like the lackeys that they are. Journalism is dead on the big 3 networks.