On Monday afternoon, MSNBC excitedly delivered supposed breaking news on the impeachment inquiry against President Trump that amounted to nothing more than the latest poll-tested talking points being put out by House Democrats. The breathless reporting repeatedly hyped liberal lawmakers deciding to focus their impeachment crusade on “abuse of power” allegations against Trump.
“And we have breaking news on that impeachment inquiry coming to us out of Washington, where we are just learning that House Democrats are honing in on a framework for their impeachment case against President Trump,” fill-in co-host Chris Jansing proclaimed at the top of the 3:00 p.m. ET hour.
The anchor eagerly turned to correspondent Heidi Przybyla for details, who declared: “Democrats who are very close to the process and individuals involved tell me that they are really narrowing the case on this impeachment framework to a simple abuse of power case against the President.”
The reporter sympathized with Democrats over the failure of the Mueller investigation to take down Trump: “...contrary to the Mueller investigation – where Democrats felt they had very compelling evidence but the narrative got too fuzzed up, it was hard to communicate to the American people – they want to keep this very simple.”
Minutes later, Przybyla reiterated: “But the main messaging and the narrative and the overarching article that they are discussing now on abuse of power, that is very much in play and very much formulated.” She then described how Democrats were carefully promoting a message that polled well:
And you can see that also in a polling memo, Chris, that went out this past week from Cheri Bustos, who is in charge of the House Democrats re-election efforts. And they actually polled this already in battleground districts. In 57 battleground districts, a majority of individuals, they found, believed this. They believe that it is either – and I’m going to read to you the exact language – “very or totally convincing” that Trump is, quote, “abusing his authority,” and that lawmakers need to, quote, “uphold the rule of law.” Therefore, even in that memo, abuse of power, again, is the very first bullet in terms of the talking points that have been distributed to the entire Democratic caucus.
Leading off a panel discussion about the topic that followed, Jansing praised Przybyla’s “blockbuster reporting” about Democrats “zeroing in on a framework for impeachment.” Correspondent Garrett Haake emphasized:
They, being the Democrats, do want to impeach and they do want to move quickly. That’s in part intention to what Heidi’s reporting, but in part, exactly in that same lane. Democrats want to keep their impeachment inquiry as streamlined as possible, as focused as possible, and they want to move it as quickly as possible.
However, the reporter also touted Democratic concerns that the impeachment messaging could become muddled: “...as one House Democrat said to me last week, their problem is, as he saw it, that the President is a one-man crime wave who keeps committing offenses that could be considered impeachable....that creates some other data point that House Democrats feel as though they have to look into.”
MSNBC received its instructions from House Democrats and dutifully portrayed partisan talking points as substantive news coverage. The liberal media, like Democrats, understand that their only hope to remove the President from office is to control the narrative at all times.
Help fight against the liberal media's impeachment crusade
Here are excerpts of the October 21 reporting:
3:03 PM ET
CHRIS JANSING: And we have breaking news on that impeachment inquiry coming to us out of Washington, where we are just learning that House Democrats are honing in on a framework for their impeachment case against President Trump. NBC News correspondent Heidi Przybyla joins me now with more. I know you have been intensively working this story for some time now. What can you tell us?
HEIDI PRZYBYLA: That’s right, Chris. Democrats who are very close to the process and individuals involved tell me that they are really narrowing the case on this impeachment framework to a simple abuse of power case against the President. Chris, this is the framework under which everything that the President has done with regards to Ukraine falls under. Whether it is pushing out the ambassador, Marie Yovanovitch, or it is the President’s phone call, or the quid pro quo on the military aid. This is the framework that they plan to use.
(...)
3:04 PM ET
PRZYBYLA: It is the Speaker’s opinion and those close to the process that this has to be very targeted. The overall point here and the takeaway, Chris, is that contrary to the Mueller investigation – where Democrats felt they had very compelling evidence but the narrative got too fuzzed up, it was hard to communicate to the American people – they want to keep this very simple.
(...)
3:07 PM ET
PRZYBYLA: But the main messaging and the narrative and the overarching article that they are discussing now on abuse of power, that is very much in play and very much formulated. These other debates are still taking place. I believe the Speaker wants to show that she is taking in all input from all different members. But they are also very, very concerned about having this stray very much beyond Ukraine. And, therefore, as to abuse of power right now, it really is just Ukraine.
And you can see that also in a polling memo, Chris, that went out this past week from Cheri Bustos, who is in charge of the House Democrats re-election efforts. And they actually polled this already in battleground districts. In 57 battleground districts, a majority of individuals, they found, believed this. They believe that it is either – and I’m going to read to you the exact language – “very or totally convincing” that Trump is, quote, “abusing his authority,” and that lawmakers need to, quote, “uphold the rule of law.” Therefore, even in that memo, abuse of power, again, is the very first bullet in terms of the talking points that have been distributed to the entire Democratic caucus.
(...)
3:14 PM ET
JANSING: They’re very methodically building this case and this blockbuster reporting, I think, from Heidi Przybyla that, in fact, they’re zeroing in on a framework for impeachment that they’re very clearly focused now on where they would want that to go if indeed articles of impeachment were to be drafted. Tell us what you’re hearing from where you are.
GARRETT HAAKE: Well, the President’s at least half right. They, being the Democrats, do want to impeach and they do want to move quickly. That’s in part intention to what Heidi’s reporting, but in part, exactly in that same lane. Democrats want to keep their impeachment inquiry as streamlined as possible, as focused as possible, and they want to move it as quickly as possible. Although, as one House Democrat said to me last week, their problem is, as he saw it, that the President is a one-man crime wave who keeps committing offenses that could be considered impeachable. So every time the President opens his mouth to add something like, “Perhaps China should investigate the Bidens as well,” that creates some other data point that House Democrats feel as though they have to look into.
(...)
