CNN continued to embody its Jeffrey Zucker-led moniker of being an ethics-free, fear-mongering, and liberal-heavy network as The Situation Room and host Wolf Blitzer again attempted to make viewers feel bad for CNN contributor Andrew McCabe, the former acting FBI director (who’s under criminal investigation).
Why? Because hours earlier, McCabe was again “a prominent target of” President Trump’s “anger.”
So here was CNN again trying to make the world feel bad for a guy who, among other things (such as leaking to the media), was fired from the FBI in 2018 after it was discovered he lied to the FBI inspector general at least four times. For shame.
Blitzer welcomed McCabe with a softball, open-ended question following a clip of the President thanking the Justice Department for intervening in the Roger Stone case: “What is your analysis? What’s your assessment? Your reaction when you hear that from the President?”
McCabe bemoaned Trump was “once again...committing transgressions in — out in plain sight” and, while speaking nothing to his own sullied reputation, kvetched how “it’s hard to explain how what a departure this is from every reasonable standard of how to conduct prosecutions and investigations in a rule of law society in which all people are treated the same.”
Blitzer continued, treating McCabe like some rational, squeaky-clean expert (click “expand”):
BLITZER: Have you seen anything like — you spent how many years in the FBI?
MCCABE: 21 years.
BLITZER: Alright, 21 years in the FBI. Have you seen a president attack a federal judge, for example, or go after prosecutors — federal prosecutors along these lines?
MCCABE: Not only have I never seen it, the one time that I can remember President Obama, you may recall, made an offhanded pertinent remark during your investigation of the Hillary Clinton e-mail situation in which he opined that we were unlikely to find much, and that simple statement rocked us to the core. I can tell you that we were incredibly concerned about, you know, asking ourselves, what does that mean? Does the president mean to tell us what his intent was for the investigation? Of course, nothing could be further from the truth. President Obama didn’t interfere with our investigation in any way. But just that simple mention put us on edge. Now, we live in a world under this President where those sorts of things happen very directly and overtly every day.
The unserious interview dragged on with Blitzer fretting in a previewing another Trump clip that
“the President attacked you personally, not the first time, again today.”
The unserious interview dragged on with Blitzer fretting in a previewing another Trump clip that “the President attacked you personally, not the first time, again today.”
After playing the clip of Trump noting how “nothing happened” to “all the people that...launched this scam” like James Comey and McCabe, the longtime CNNer addressed McCabe like he had just been assaulted: “So, when you hear that from the President of the United States, what goes through your mind?”
Someone get Wolf a fainting couch!
McCabe immediately responded like a true Deep State hack that “it’s disgusting and shocking” and “[a]s many times as it happens, you never really get over that, but I think it’s important to take it out of the context of just me, and here again, we have a President casting aspersions of people who have never been charged with a crime, myself, Jim Comey, anyone else from that group that we worked with at the FBI.”
“He routinely refers to people as corrupt or having committing crimes when that could not be further from the truth and again, Wolf, I think he does this because he’s trying to plant that thought in people's minds. If he says it enough times, he thinks people will believe it,” he added without pushback or a statement of irony from Blitzer.
To see the relevant transcript from CNN’s The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer on February 12, click “expand.”
CNN’s The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer
February 12, 2020
5:18 p.m. EasternWOLF BLITZER: Today, President Trump, first on Twitter and then camera, praised the Attorney General Bill Barr and the Justice Department for intervening in the case against his political ally Roger Stone. Joining us is CNN contributor Andrew McCabe. He’s the former deputy director and acting director of the FBI. Andrew, thanks so much for coming in.
ANDREW MCCABE: Sure.
BLITZER: I want you to listen and I want our viewers listen and watch what the President said in the Oval Office a little while ago.
MCCABE: Okay.
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: I want to thank the Justice Department for seeing this horrible thing, and I did not speak to them by the way so you understand, they saw how horrible this is of a nine-year sentence of doing nothing. You have murders and drug addicts — they don't get nine years.
BLITZER: That follows a tweet from the President last night. He wrote: “Congratulations to Attorney General Bill Barr for taking charge of a case that was totally out of control.” What is your analysis? What’s your assessment? Your reaction when you hear that from the president?
MCCABE: Well, the comments in the Oval Office and of course the tweets are just once again, we can see the President committing transgressions in — out in plain sight, right? He makes no mistake about the fact of what he wants and then, of course, offers his congratulations to the attorney general for executing the order. This is not the first time that we've seen this from this President. You can look back just to the Eddie Gallagher case, a few weeks ago and there’s — there’s many other examples of that.
BLITZER: Well, what’s the transgression that he made?
MCCABE: Well, Wolf, it’s hard to explain how what a departure this is from every reasonable standard of how to conduct prosecutions and investigations in a rule of law society in which all people are treated the same. The — one of the fundamental bedrocks is that the president does not get involved in criminal prosecutions, certainly doesn’t weigh in with his preferences on sentences, wouldn’t typically attack witnesses, wouldn’t assail the government for recruiting informants, but these are all things that this President has done repeatedly.
BLITZER: Have you seen anything like — you spent how many years in the FBI?
MCCABE: 21 years.
BLITZER: Alright, 21 years in the FBI. Have you seen a president attack a federal judge, for example, or go after prosecutors — federal prosecutors along these lines?
MCCABE: Not only have I never seen it, the one time that I can remember President Obama, you may recall, made an offhanded pertinent remark during your investigation of the Hillary Clinton e-mail situation in which he opined that we were unlikely to find much, and that simple statement rocked us to the core. I can tell you that we were incredibly concerned about, you know, asking ourselves, what does that mean? Does the president mean to tell us what his intent was for the investigation? Of course, nothing could be further from the truth. President Obama didn’t interfere with our investigation in any way. But just that simple mention put us on edge. Now, we live in a world under this President where those sorts of things happen very directly and overtly every day.
BLITZER: He says these federal prosecutors — they should go back to school. He once said that about senior intelligence officials as well. I want to play another clip — the President attacked you personally, not the first time, again today. Listen to this.
TRUMP: You look at what happened — how many people were hurt, their lives were destroyed and nothing happened with all the people that did it and launched this scam. Where’s Comey? Why — what’s happening to McCabe?
BLITZER: So, when you hear that from the President of the United States, what goes through your mind?
MCCABE: Well, first of all, it’s disgusting and shocking. As many times as it happens, you never really get over that. But I think it’s important to take it out of the context of just me, and here again, we have a President casting aspersions of people who have never been charged with a crime, myself, Jim Comey, anyone else from that group that we worked with at the FBI. He routinely refers to people as corrupt or having committing crimes when that could not be further from the truth and again, Wolf, I think he does this because he’s trying to plant that thought in people's minds. If he says it enough times, he thinks people will believe it.
BLITZER: The President also today abruptly withdrew the nomination of one senior official Jessie Liu, who had — from the Justice Department — been overseeing the Roger Stone case, other cases, your own case, for example, do you see that as punishment for her — for this woman, Jessie Liu for not intervening in the Roger stone case the way he would have wanted?
MCCABE: Well, I don't know why Ms. Liu’s nomination was —
BLITZER: For a Treasury Department — senior Treasury Department.
MCCABE: — right, but it certainly could be that this is yet another example of the President conveying his displeasure with those folks who don’t executive his will, who don’t bend to his will, and deliver the results that he seeks.
BLITZER: Thanks very much for joining us —
MCCABE: Sure.
BLITZER: — Andrew McCabe. You’re in The Situation Room.
