Despite the esoteric nature of anonymously-sourced reports about how “some” of “Mueller’s team” aren’t pleased with Attorney General Barr’s letters on the Mueller report, liberal media types have used the stories to imply Barr has been lying about the report’s findings on collusion and obstruction of justice. This nonsense shined brightly on Thursday’s The Lead as CNN political commentators Kirsten Powers and Symone Sanders did just that.
Host Jake Tapper largely stayed out of the way, letting conservative panelists Mary Katharine Ham and David Urban sort out the hogwash and thankfully they did.
Powers began by crediting the “pretty loud part of the [Democratic] Party” who have chosen to not believe the Barr letters revealing the Mueller report’s principal conclusions because “based on just the publicly available information” things appeared otherwise.
Urban hit back by pointing out that “[a]t least on the collusion part, right, there was no collusion” and how “[n]ot one American has been charged, not one of the campaigns has been charged with collusion” while not rendering a conclusion on obstruction.
This inconvenient fact was unsatisfactory to Sanders, who interrupted to assert that “we don't know what Bob Mueller said because we haven't seen the report.”
Powers responded by complaining that Urban had “set up a total strawman....because what you said is every Democrat said that they would trust Bob Mueller. But we haven't seen the Mueller report.”
Urban then confronted both of them on whether they think Barr lied and, naturally, they grew defensive as the transcript below showed (click “expand”):
SANDERS: We don't know what the Mueller report says.
URBAN: Sure we do. Sure we do.
SANDERS: What we know is what we —
URBAN: Sure we do. Sure we do.
SANDERS: — know what Bob Barr says the Mueller report says.
URBAN: Nope.
SANDERS: And I don’t know about a — as my friend Stacey Abrams said, I only know about a report card or a summary of a report that the attorney general has given on what Bob Mueller says. We don’t know.
URBAN: We know conclusively that Bob Mueller said there was no collusion.
SANDERS: Did you read the report?
URBAN: We didn’t read it. It was an excerpt in quote.
SANDERS: I’d like to note, Jake, there is not one full sentence from Mueller's report appears —
TAPPER: Right.
SANDERS: — in the statement from Bob Barr.
URBAN: You think the attorney general is lying?
SANDERS: I just — I —
URBAN: Misrepresenting it?
SANDERS: — I'm just not going to take the attorney general's word for it.
TAPPER: Let’s put Mary Katharine —
URBAN: Then you say he’s lying.
SANDERS: I want to see the Mueller report.
Ham seemed incredulous to the pontificating going on, so she used her only real opportunity in the segment to speak and, like she did last week, put lefties in their place (click “expand”):
HAM: Yeah, I do have some questions about what I'm asked to believe here. Am I asked to believe that Barr, a longtime professional in this — even in this particular role is engaged in a cover-up of his longtime colleague and I think someone he's friendly with, Bob Mueller's two-year investigation. And that he would put this forward in the — for the purpose of setting a narrative which then the media two weeks later would allow to sit if the report were substantively different than what Barr had put out? Like that's — that seems unreal to me. If, indeed, the Mueller report is very different — is very different from what Barr has said. I think we would all —
TAPPER: We all agree it should be released, right, at this point?
SANDERS: Yes.
HAM: — yes. I have been on board for that for a long time.
Sanders hit back by reiterating that she’s not trusting what Barr has said but instead trust secondary anonymous sources to news outlets. In other words, typical for someone like her.
Powers further cemented her insinuation that Barr’s lying by ruling that “it's entirely possible that a political appointee would put out a narrative that is best for their boss” because Barr “wasn’t....quoting more directly from the report” than he could have.
And like earlier, Urban schooled Powers and Sanders by informing them that “it’s a binary thing” with this being the question: “Is the attorney general telling the truth or is he not telling the truth? You choose to answer it.”
“I think the attorney general says — I think is he telling the truth or not telling the truth? I believe he's telling the truth. Symone and you seem to indicate he's not telling the truth,” he added.
Instead of owning up to it, Powers and Sanders whimped out by claiming that they’re just asking for the Mueller report to come out before reaching a conclusion.
“I don't know what's so outrageous about suggesting that a political appointee would ever maybe not be completely forthcoming. You’re making it out to be like it’s just so, like, atrocious to suggest such a thing,” Powers fretted.
How courageous!
To see the relevant transcript from CNN’s The Lead on April 4, click “expand.”
CNN’s The Lead
April 4, 2019
4:04 p.m. EasternJAKE TAPPER: Let's dive into this with my group of experts. Kirsten, let me start with you. Up until this new news cycle, Republicans had been saying Democrats, you're overplaying your hand. Just Let attorney General Barr do his work. There — you know, he deserves the benefit of the doubt. Even FBI Director — ex-FBI Director James Comey said Barr deserves a benefit of the doubt. It seems Democrats are not listening to that.
KIRSTEN POWERS: Yeah, well, there was also division sort of, I think, among the Democratic Party about how to respond to this and there was a pretty loud part of the party that was saying, hold on. Something smells here. Like something doesn't seem right based on just the publicly available information. How would you come to this conclusion on obstruction of justice? I mean, and some people would say even on collusion. I'd say on obstruction of justice and so I think that this is actually not that surprising to me when Barr was — in doing his hearings and we were discussing it. I was saying, like, look, this is the guy that Donald Trump chose. There's a reason. So I think this is a good example of what he — Donald Trump probably expected him to do was to not release very much of the report, which he didn't — he, you know, during his hearings said he wasn't obliged really to release anything. He didn't release very much it, and there's a lot of things that I think the American people have a right to see that he should release.
TAPPER: David, you’re shaking your head.
DAVID URBAN: Right because no matter what gets released, no matter what point, you know, at the beginning of this, I said and others said Bob Mueller is a man of integrity. He's going to do an incredibly thorough job. He's a great American, patriot. I sat here and said that.
TAPPER: You said that from — since he was appointed? Absolutely.
URBAN: From day one — from day one and I said that since he was let the chips fall where they may. Democrats said that. Now that Barr has come out and now that Bob Mueller has come out and said, you know what? At least on the collusion part, right, there was no collusion. Not one American has been charged, not one of the campaigns has been charged with collusion. No one’s been indicted. It’s not happening. Don’t laugh, Symone. This is a real thing here.
SYMONE SANDERS: I guess I’m laughing —
URBAN: But no, hold on. Stop. Stop.
SANDERS: — because we don't know what Bob Mueller said because we haven't seen the report.
URBAN: Stop. It’s my turn.
SANDERS: So he said nothing.
URBAN: Stop. So he comes out and says all of as to obstruction he says I'm going to present the facts on both sides. I'm not going to make any determination. I’m going to let that go. So for Kirsten and for others to say, well, there's something there, clearly, based upon what?
SANDERS: If I may, Jake —
URBAN: Based upon what?
POWERS: I just want to say something. He made reference to what I said.
TAPPER: I’ll let you go, but — yeah, let Kirsten go.
POWERS: You know, you set up a total straw man first of all.
URBAN: No, I didn't. I said the facts, Kirsten —
POWERS: Hold on.
URBAN: — no, it’s the facts.
POWERS: No, it’s a total strawman because what you said is every Democrat said that they would trust Bob Mueller. But we haven't seen the Mueller report. What happened was — hold on. Hold on. During Watergate, what happened was that report, because the laws were different, that report went directly — it went to a lawy — to a judge and then to congress. It wasn't — it wasn’t sent to the attorney general to make a determination and we don’t have — we don't know for sure that Mueller wanted him to make a determination. So, people are being consistent in saying let's see what Bob Mueller said.
SANDERS: Because the laws were different. Small — small but important fact.
TAPPER: It is an important — Symone.
SANDERS: Yeah, small but important fact. The laws were different, but a lot of — my only qualm here is look. Everybody keeps saying Bob Mueller has asked and answered the question and we don't know what Bob Mueller says because we have not seen the Mueller report and so I think, frankly, there are a lot of people, Republicans, Democrats, but also folks in the media that have to be — we have to be very intentional with our words. We don't know what the Mueller report says.
URBAN: Sure we do. Sure we do.
SANDERS: What we know is what we —
URBAN: Sure we do. Sure we do.
SANDERS: — know what Bob Barr says the Mueller report says.
URBAN: Nope.
SANDERS: And I don’t know about a — as my friend Stacey Abrams said, I only know about a report card or a summary of a report that the attorney general has given on what Bob Mueller says. We don’t know.
URBAN: We know conclusively that Bob Mueller said there was no collusion.
SANDERS: Did you read the report?
URBAN: We didn’t read it. It was an excerpt in quote.
SANDERS: I’d like to note, Jake, there is not one full sentence from Mueller's report appears —
TAPPER: Right.
SANDERS: — in the statement from Bob Barr.
URBAN: You think the attorney general is lying?
SANDERS: I just — I —
URBAN: Misrepresenting it?
SANDERS: — I'm just not going to take the attorney general's word for it.
TAPPER: Let’s put Mary Katharine —
URBAN: Then you say he’s lying.
SANDERS: I want to see the Mueller report.
TAPPER: Mary Katharine?
MARY KATHARINE HAM: Yeah, I do have some questions about what I'm asked to believe here. Am I asked to believe that Barr, a longtime professional in this — even in this particular role is engaged in a cover-up of his longtime colleague and I think someone he's friendly with, Bob Mueller's two-year investigation.
TAPPER: Yeah. I think they're good friends. That’s how he’s characterized it.
HAM: And that he would put this forward in the — for the purpose of setting a narrative which then the media two weeks later would allow to sit if the report were substantively different than what Barr had put out? Like that's — that seems unreal to me. If, indeed, the Mueller report is very different —
SANDERS: I just want to point out that's not what I was saying.
HAM: — is very different from what Barr has said. I think we would all —
TAPPER: We all agree it should be released, right, at this point?
SANDERS: Yes.
HAM: — yes. I have been on board for that for a long time.
SANDERS: It should be released and that we don’t know. But also that we don't know what it says. That’s what I’m saying. All I'm saying and a number of people are saying is we don't actually know what the report says.
POWERS: Also —
HAM: But the conclusion does matter.
SANDERS: We know what — we know what Barr says it says and now we know that there are people in the special counsel's office that reportedly, allegedly --
URBAN: Hold on. Hold on, “people.”
SANDERS: — okay. “People.” The President likes to quote people all the time, so come on now. People and the — that worked on the special — in counsel’s office that are telling us, well, there — there was summaries —
HAM: Well, it was people that they spoke to.
SANDERS: — that we prepared -- there were summaries that we prepared that we thought would be released. So we don't know. There's too many questions in the air. So, for folks to say we know what the Mueller report says, if y’all are ready to move on, let me know.
HAM: We did a lot — we did a lot of knowing for two years before we knew nothing.
POWERS: So, I would say just to directly answer your question, I think it's entirely possible that a political appointee would put out a narrative that is best for their boss. I think it happens all the time. Knowing that the — that — that the story that gets out first is the story that sticks and even if now later more information comes up, people are going to be less receptive to hearing it. So I think it's more likely that he's — look. Why wasn't he quoting more directly from the report? I think that's a fair question. Why are there — they say they gave a summary. Supposedly, some of the stuff needs to be redacted, but why can't it just be shared?
URBAN: So — so I think it's a binary thing. I think it’s binary.
HAM: If they share some of it, it's a crime. By accident.
URBAN: Is the attorney general telling the truth or is he not telling the truth?
TAPPER: Right.
URBAN: You choose to answer it.
POWERS: Is he not telling the truth?
URBAN: I think the attorney general says — I think is he telling the truth or not telling the truth? I believe he's telling the truth. Symone and you seem to indicate he's not telling the truth.
SANDERS: I seem to indicate I have not seen —
POWERS: I mean, I don’t why —
SANDERS: — the Mueller report so I can't make an informed decision about something I have not seen and something that no one at this table has seen.
POWERS: — yeah. I don't know what's so outrageous about suggesting that a political appointee would ever maybe not be completely forthcoming. You’re making it out to be like —
URBAN: I’m just — no — I want to make sure —
POWERS: — it’s just so, like, atrocious to suggest such a thing.
URBAN: — everybody understands what you're saying, that the attorney general is not being truthful.
TAPPER: Alright. Everyone —
POWERS: I don't know if he's being truthful.
TAPPER: I think there’s just — there’s a lot of skepticism over here.
SANDERS: Oh. I’m real — I’m real skeptical.
POWERS: I would like to be — just see the facts.
HAM: We should have been a little more skeptical for two years.
TAPPER: Well, and that’s fair too.
