After his hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, congressional Democrats and the liberal media were in sync as they accused Attorney General William Barr of lying to Congress. During Thursday’s evening newscasts, ABC and CBS seemed excited by Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) standing before the press and calling Barr a criminal.
CBS Evening News was the only member of the Big Three broadcast networks to kick off their Thursday evening program with the Barr story. At the top of the report, they featured Pelosi bitterly declaring: “He lied to Congress. If anybody else did that, it would be considered a crime.”
Anchor Jeff Glor and chief congressional correspondent Nancy Cordes were amused by one unserious Democratic lawmaker, Steve Cohen of Tennessee, who stuffed his face with Kentucky Fried Chicken and creepily caressed a chicken figurine to mock the AG:
NANCY CORDES: One Democrat mocked Barr's absence by feasting from a bucket of KFC.
REP. STEVE COHEN: Chicken Barr should have shown up today and answered questions.
“One Democrat taunted Barr with a prop chicken and KFC,” Glor noted as he led into the report.
The Democrats and the media asserted that Barr lied about knowing whether or not the special counsel team had a problem with his four-page memo on the principal conclusions of the Russia report. “But it turns out, he knew exactly what they wanted,” Cordes argued for Pelosi, “because Special Counsel Robert Mueller had already sent Barr a pointed letter complaining that Barr's memo ‘did not fully capture’ Mueller's findings.”
That’s highly misleading by Cordes and the Democrats. In Wednesday’s hearing, Barr explained that he talked with Robert Mueller over the phone; In that conversation, the Special Counsel told Barr he didn’t have a problem with the memo.
Cordes ended her report by hyping the “growing number of Democrats, including a dozen presidential candidates, are now calling on Barr to resign after just three months on the job.”
While ABC didn’t mention the chicken stunt, congressional correspondent Mary Bruce relished the opportunity to target Barr:
MARY BRUCE: The Speaker of the House today came before cameras and called the attorney general a liar.
SPEAKER NANCY PELOSI: The attorney general of the United States of America was not telling the truth to the Congress of the United States. That's a crime.
BRUCE: She's talking about this moment from April. Barr asked whether he knew Robert Mueller's team was unhappy with his summary of their report.
“Nancy Pelosi says it amounts to perjury,” Bruce added.
Meanwhile, NBC Nightly News appeared to throw cold water on the hopes of finding Barr in contempt of Congress. Being the only broadcast network to recall former AG Eric Holder, chief White House correspondent Hallie Jackson noted that contempt of Congress doesn’t really mean anything.
The transcripts are below, click "expand" to read:
ABC’s World News Tonight
May 2, 2019
6:37:07 p.m. EasternDAVID MUIR: Next tonight, to the drama on Capitol Hill. Attorney General William Barr, a no-show at a hearing before the House Judiciary Committee, a chair there remained empty. He refused to show up on Capitol Hill for day two of questioning on the Mueller report. And House Speaker Nancy Pelosi with strong words about what happened yesterday, accusing Barr of lying to Congress. And this question tonight, will Robert Mueller testify before the American people about his own findings? Here's ABC's Mary Bruce on the hill.
[Cuts to video]
MARY BRUCE: The Speaker of the House today came before cameras and called the attorney general a liar.
SPEAKER NANCY PELOSI: The attorney general of the United States of America was not telling the truth to the Congress of the United States. That's a crime.
BRUCE: She's talking about this moment from April. Barr asked whether he knew Robert Mueller's team was unhappy with his summary of their report.
(…)
BRUCE: What Barr did know then, but did not reveal, was that Mueller himself had expressed those same complaints to Barr in an extraordinary letter. On Capitol Hill yesterday, Democrats furious.
(…)
BRUCE: Nancy Pelosi says it amounts to perjury.
PELOSI: Being attorney general does not give you a path to go say whatever you want and it is the fact because you are the attorney general. It just isn't true.
BRUCE: The Justice Department fired back, calling Pelosi's comments "Reckless, irresponsible, and false." Today, Barr was a no-show for his scheduled testimony before the House Judiciary Committee. Democrats wanted him to take questions from committee attorneys and he objected. In his place today, an empty chair.
[Cuts back to live]
MUIR: We saw that empty chair. Mary Bruce, live up on the hill tonight. And Mary, House Democrats could decide to subpoena the Attorney General, as you have reported. They have not made that decision yet. They're going to give it a few more days they said.
(…)
CBS Evening News
May 2, 2019
6:31:26 p.m. EasternJEFF GLOR: And the gloves came off today. The House Speaker accused the Attorney General of breaking the law. The Justice Department called that reckless. William Barr said he would not appear today before Congress and he kept that promise. His seat sat empty on the House hearing on the Mueller report. He objected to the Democrats’ plan to have staff lawyers question him. One Democrat taunted Barr with a prop chicken and KFC. Nancy Cordes has more.
[Cuts to video]
NANCY PELOSI: He lied to Congress. If anybody else did that, it would be considered a crime.
NANCY CORDES: The House Speaker's accusation ricocheted across Washington today. The Justice Department calling it reckless, irresponsible, and false.” As the man in question skipped out on a House hearing after a dispute over the format.
REP. JERRY NADLER: Attorney General Barr has informed us that he will not appear today.
CORDES: One Democrat mocked Barr's absence by feasting from a bucket of KFC.
REP. STEVE COHEN: Chicken Barr should have shown up today and answered questions.
CORDES: Republicans argued Barr was right to steer clear.
REP. DOUG COLLINS: We go back to a circus political stunt to say we want it to look like an impeachment hearing because they won't bring impeachment proceedings.
CORDES: Speaker Pelosi argues the nation's top law enforcement official broke the law last month when he feigned ignorance about reports that members of the special counsel's team were unhappy with Barr's initial four-page summary of their work.
(…)
CORDES: But it turns out, he knew exactly what they wanted, because Special Counsel Robert Mueller had already sent Barr a pointed letter complaining that Barr's memo “did not fully capture” Mueller's findings.
(…)
CORDES: Now Democrats are threatening to hold Barr in contempt of Congress.
PELOSI: This is very, very serious.
[Cuts back to live]
CORDES: A growing number of Democrats, including a dozen presidential candidates, are now calling on Barr to resign after just three months on the job. The President says Barr is being treated unfairly and says that Barr did a fantastic job when he did testify here on Capitol Hill yesterday.
GLOR: Okay, Nancy Cordes, thank you very much.
