All three networks worried about the “fate” of the Mueller investigation with news that Attorney General Jeff Sessions was fired yesterday. On Thursday’s morning news programs, anchors and reporters tore into his replacement as acting AG, Matthew Whitaker, for comments he has made in the past criticizing the Mueller investigation. They also touted Democrats like Chuck Schumer fearmongering, calling it a “constitutional crisis.”
CBS This Morning was the most over the top in its analysis, with anchor Norah O’Donnell even channeling Democrats asking West Virginia Democrat Joe Manchin, if “we were approaching a constitutional crisis,” with the appointment of Whitaker.
“I think there's a real question about congressional oversight here,” she worried again, pointing out that Whitaker wasn’t confirmed. “So what will you do about it?” co-anchor Gayle King chimed in to pressure the moderate Democrat.
Co-anchor John Dickerson also touted Democrats hyping that we were in a “constitutional crisis.” Correspondent Paula Reid read the tea leaves that Whitaker was most definitely going to stop the already year and a half long investigation from continuing and that was going to be “very beneficial” for President Trump”
There are a lot of concerns within side the justice department that Whitaker could try to limit the special counsel's investigation. He's now the one who has final say over any charges that are filed and he'll also be the one who will decide as long as he's in that job whether any final report from the special counsel is made public... And before he came to become Sessions' chief of staff, he made a lot of public comments that were very critical of the special counsel investigation and suggesting its scope could be limited. And right now and the president is under increasing scrutiny in that investigation, still negotiating whether or not he wants to answer questions in writing or in person. It could be very beneficial for the president and his legal team to have someone like Whitaker at the helm.
Over on NBC’s Today, anchor Craig Melvin also worried the probe was "in danger," noting that Jeff Sessions departure was “raising questions this morning about the fate of the special counsel's Russia probe.” Correspondent Hallie Jackson touted Democrats like Chuck Schumer and former Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney urging the Mueller investigation to continue, adding that Democratic and liberal groups” were organizing protests later this afternoon about the “emergency” of “protecting the special counsel investigation.”
ABC’s Good Morning America continued the fear-mongering with anchor George Stephanopoulos worrying to legal analyst Dan Abrams that Whitaker would impede or stop the investigation. Bringing up Whitaker’s past comments on CNN being critical of the investigation, he asked, “The fact that he has spoken out on the investigation before he had the job and his connections to a witness, Sam Clovis, is that enough to conflict him out?”
Abrams called Whitaker’s public comments like “an audition tape to become the attorney general,” and that prompted Stephanopoulos to ask, “If he wanted to steer, hinder or stop the investigation what could he do?”
