Giving yet another reason to throw CNN+ into the dustbin of history, Thursday’s edition of The Source featured host Kasie Hunt and CNN political director David Chalian agreeing with petty tyrant Dr. Anthony Fauci that the CDC should not be subject to judicial oversight. He even argued the courts shouldn’t have the authority to undo the federal mask mandate for public transportation.
“Politically, it’s kind of a lose-lose for the Biden administration,” Hunt lamented at the top of the show. “They were considering lifting the ban in just a matter of weeks but now they are forced to appeal the judge’s ruling in order to protect the CDC’s power in future pandemics.”
In his office and surrounded by Fauci-branded tchotchkes, Hunt then elevated Fauci’s displeasure with the idea of a part of the executive branch being subjected to judicial oversight by a federal court in Florida:
I was both surprised and disappointed because those types of things really are the purview of the CDC. This is a public health issue. And for a court to come in – and is you look at the rationale for that, it really is not partially firm. And we are concerned about that. About courts getting involved in things that are unequivocally public health decisions. I mean, this is a CDC issue, it should not have been a court issue.
The man who thinks he’s the physical embodiment of science argued that the court shouldn’t have the ability to strike down the CDC’s overreaches. “[I]t’s because that’s no place for the courts to do that,” Fauci huffed. “This is a CDC decision and that’s very bad precedent; when you have courts making a decision and looking at what the bases of the decision was, it was not sound.”
Following that portion of the interview, they cut back to the live shot and CNN political director David Chalian defended Fauci by suggesting, without evidence, that a majority of the country was not itching to ditch masks:
Although, the politics, by the way, are divided. It’s not like some lopsided sense that everybody in the country wants to be done with masks. That’s not the case. Like much of the things in this virus, it got politicized and polarized, and so too on whether or not people want to wear masks on federal transportation outlets.
“But Fauci has a different role to play,” he touted. “And he has to preserve or at least he feels he has to preserve that prospect in future pandemics for the CDC to be the entity that actually gets to set this policy and have a court come in at the last minute and do so.”
The only person speaking any sense on the set was a former top aide to John Boehner, Brendan Buck who called out Fauci’s ridiculous demand to be above oversight.
He pointed out how Fauci and the CDC think “only” the “public health component” of the pandemic matters when “the things that we’ve done to combat this virus have had an effect on the economy, had an effect on children.”
“And sometimes those effects have been dismissed and anything – if you want to raise other sides of things, it’s talked about as an attack on science. And it’s not. Science is really important, but so are some of these other things,” he said to the dead silence of the rest of the panel.
The transcript is below, click "expand" to read:
CNN+’s The Source
April 21, 2022
4:01:37 p.m. EasternKASIE HUNT: This week a federal judge in Florida struck down the government’s transportation mask mandate, so you don’t have to wear one on an airplane. Now the Justice Department though is appealing.
Politically, it’s kind of a lose-lose for the Biden administration. They were considering lifting the ban in just a matter of weeks but now they are forced to appeal the judge’s ruling in order to protect the CDC’s power in future pandemics.
I spoke with Dr. Fauci today at this office at the NIH about what went through his mind as he learned about that ruling.
[Cuts to video]
DR. ANTHONY FAUCI: I was both surprised and disappointed because those types of things really are the purview of the CDC. This is a public health issue. And for a court to come in – and is you look at the rationale for that, it really is not partially firm. And we are concerned about that. About courts getting involved in things that are unequivocally public health decisions. I mean, this is a CDC issue, it should not have been a court issue.
So, we’re hoping that the inevitable increase in cases which we’re seeing are not going to be associated with an increase in hospitalizations. So, all of these dynamic things going on at the same time, it was perfectly logical for the CDC to say, ‘wait a minute, we were planning on ending this mandate on a certain date. Let’s wait a period of time until May 3, which was a very sound public health decision.”
So, for a court to come in and interfere in that, is really unfortunate. It’s unfortunate because it’s against public health principles, number one. And number two, it’s because that’s no place for the courts to do that. This is a CDC decision and that’s very bad precedent; when you have courts making a decision and looking at what the bases of the decision was, it was not sound.
(…)
4:05:47 p.m. Eastern
DAVID CHALIAN: Although, the politics, by the way, are divided. It’s not like some lopsided sense that everybody in the country wants to be done with masks. That’s not the case. Like much of the things in this virus, it got politicized and polarized and so too on whether or not people want to wear masks on federal transportation outlets.
But Fauci has a different role to play. And he has to preserve or at least he feels he has to preserve that prospect in future pandemics for the CDC to be the entity that actually gets to set this policy and have a court come in at the last minute and do so.
(…)
4:07:16 p.m. Eastern
BRENDAN BUCK: The thing I took issue with – with Dr. Fauci there was he said this is ‘clearly a public health issue.’ And of course, there’s a public health component to it. But what CDC and Dr. Fauci have said over and over and over again seems to suggest that’s the ONLY factor that should weigh in. And there are a number of factors.
You know, when the things that we’ve done to combat this virus have had an effect on the economy, had an effect on children. And sometimes those effects have been dismissed and anything – if you want to raise other sides of things, it’s talked about as an attack on science. And it’s not. Science is really important, but so are some of these other things.
And here again, he seems to think that his position, the CDC’s position is the only one that matters. And I think the Biden White House needs to take into account a few other things along the way.
(…)
