The left-right double standard at CBS News was nakedly apparent during Monday’s CBS Mornings as January 6-obsessed correspondent Scott MacFarlane was stoking fear of President Trump’s public criticism of liberal judges, suggesting that someone could be killed. Meanwhile, CBS had been stoking hatred of the conservative justices on U.S. Supreme Court, seemingly uncaring about their lives.
Of course, MacFarlane started his segment with January 6 and by leaning on disgruntled and fired U.S. Pardon Attorney Liz Oyer: “Pardoning more than 1,500 U.S. Capitol riot defendants, many his supporters including hundreds who admitted assaulting police. Former U.S. pardon attorney Liz Oyer suspects it was part of an opening message: loyalty would be paramount in the Trump administration.”
“They're treating the powers of the Department of Justice as something that can be used to do political favors or to extract vengeance against enemies,” Oyler huffed, ignoring how Democrats tried to use legal system to keep Trump off of ballots across the country and imprison him.
Speaking for Oyer’s credentials, MacFarlane shared her claims about why she was fired: “Oyer says she was abruptly fired from the Department of Justice in March hours after she refused to help restore gun position rights to Trump ally and actor Mel Gibson.”
Insanely whining about Pam Bondi being appointed attorney general over three months after her confirmation, MacFarlane clutched his pearls over it. “Many of Trump's close allies have been put in top law enforcement positions to carry out his agenda, including Attorney General Pam Bondi,” he warned.
Among the policies that Bondi was implementing that MacFarlane feared, were “seeking federal death penalty sentences for murderers” and “gang arrests while prioritizing deportations.”
MacFarlane teed up the suggesting that Trump was going to get judges killed by citing a Trump social media post where he called a judge a “Radical Liberal Lunatic” and called for him to “impeached” (not harmed).
He furthered his narrative by exploiting New Jersey-based Federal Judge Esther Salas, whose son was murdered by a man trying to kill her (MacFarlane omitted the critical detail that man had a personal vendetta against her, not tied to politics):
MACFARLANE: Judge Esther Salas, a New Jersey federal judge whose son was shot and killed by a disgruntled man targeting Salas for retribution, warns the new public criticism of judges could lead to more violence.
SALAS: It's fair game to criticize judges' rulings. I think that's fair game. That's part of a healthy democracy. What I think is not fair game is when we criticize judges by ultimately misinforming the public as to the rulings or why we did what we did.
If CBS was actually concerned about welfare of federal judges they would do something about how their network vilified conservative justice on the U.S. Supreme Court.
In 2021, they openly feared the start of the SCOTUS session. “Tonight, the Supreme Court began its new term, one that could be the most consequential in a generation, with abortion rights topping the agenda,” announced CBS Evening News anchor Norah O’Donnell while wondering “what’s at stake.”
CBS also suggested that the overturning of Roe v. Wade could lead to the end of gay marriage and they decried SCOTUS keeping Title 42 in place to hamper illegal immigration. And CBS’s Stephen Colbert had described Justice Samuel Alito and his wife “fascist” and a “religious nut.” Those were just a hand full of instances.
Were their lives not worthy of protection, CBS? It’s not like there was an attempted assassination against one of them and you guys ignored the suspect’s recent search for guilty plea. Oh, wait.
The transcript is below. Click "expand' to read:
CBS Mornings
April 28, 2025
7:38:41 a.m. EasternANTHONY MASON: President Trump will mark the 100th day of his new term tomorrow. The many changes that have happened since January include an overhaul at the Justice Department and some dramatic showdowns with federal judges. Scott Macfarlane reports on the impact.
[Cuts to video]
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP (January 20, inauguration): So help me, God.
SCOTT MACFARLANE: Just hours after being sworn in, President Trump uncorked a dramatic decision.
TRUMP: This is January 6th, these are the hostages.
MACFARLANE: Pardoning more than 1,500 U.S. Capitol riot defendants, many his supporters including hundreds who admitted assaulting police. Former U.S. pardon attorney Liz Oyer suspects it was part of an opening message: loyalty would be paramount in the Trump administration.
LIZ OYER (former pardon attorney): They're treating the powers of the Department of Justice as something that can be used to do political favors or to extract vengeance against enemies.
MACFARLANE: Oyer says she was abruptly fired from the Department of Justice in March hours after she refused to help restore gun position rights to Trump ally and actor Mel Gibson.
What does that mean to people if there are so many experienced folks being walked out the door?
OYER: I think that all Americans should be very frightened about the fact that the Department of Justice is no longer valuing career expertise.
MACFARLANE: Many of Trump's close allies have been put in top law enforcement positions to carry out his agenda, including Attorney General Pam Bondi.
ATTORNEY GENERAL PAM BONDI: We didn't need new laws. As President Trump always said, we needed a new president.
MACFARLANE: Among the changes, Bondi announced the agency would resume seeking federal death penalty sentences for murderers, ended diversity programs, and used her first wave of public appearances to announce gang arrests while prioritizing deportations.
And judges have been put on notice. On Friday, sitting Milwaukee judge Hannah Dugan was arrest by the FBI and charged with two felonies -- an allegation she tried to help an undocumented immigrant avoid arrest after he appeared in her courtroom.
BONDI: No one is above the law. Not even a judge.
MACFARLANE: Dugan's attorney says she regrets and protests her arrest, but this latest incident follows a stream of high-profile criticisms from the White House. After D.C. federal judge James Boasberg ordered a halt to deportations of alleged gang members to a notorious Salvadoran prison under the Alien Enemies Act, Trump blasted Boasberg as a “Radical Left Lunatic” and called for him to be “impeached.” And the administration has blistered a Maryland judge who ordered the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who the Department of Justice acknowledged was deported to the prison by mistake.
JUDGE ESTHER SALAS: I'm very concerned about the rule of law.
MACFARLANE: Judge Esther Salas, a New Jersey federal judge whose son was shot and killed by a disgruntled man targeting Salas for retribution, warns the new public criticism of judges could lead to more violence.
SALAS: It's fair game to criticize judges' rulings. I think that's fair game. That's part of a healthy democracy. What I think is not fair game is when we criticize judges by ultimately misinforming the public as to the rulings or why we did what we did.
[Cuts back to live]
MACFARLANE: More than 200 federal lawsuits have already been filed against Trump administration policies, and with the Department of Justice trying to implement more of the Trump agenda, many of those cases could eventually go to the U.S. Supreme Court. Vlad.
VLAD DUTHIERS: All right, Scott. Thank you very much for that report.
