Who better than far-left Democratic Congressman Adam Schiff to talk about John Bolton’s new tell-all book on the Trump administration? That, apparently, was the thinking of Gayle King on Thursday when she described the liberal Congressman as the “perfect person” to discuss the new allegations.
The questions were about what you would expect from King, a Democratic donor. She began by cheering, “It's really good to see you. You're the perfect person to talk to on this particular day.” She then tossed this softball: “Based on what you've seen and read, what concerns you most that you've seen in this book?”
How about this for a hard-hitting question: “Do you plan to read [Bolton's] book?” King even managed to hit Schiff from the left, saying the Democrats simply didn’t do a good enough job in impeaching Trump: “And a lot of the things that we heard during the trial are now we're also reading in the book. Do you wish that the Democrats would have pushed harder to have him testify?”
Finally, King managed one question on Bolton’s credibility: “Republicans say he's a disgruntled employee with an axe to grind who is simply trying to sell a book.... Should we take the book seriously?”
Gayle King has a history of donating to Democrats. She vacationed with the Obamas and attended a birthday party with the then-president. THIS is who CBS thinks should be interviewing Democratic congressmen on policy?
Here’s where you can tweet CBS News your thoughts on their journalistic choices.
A transcript of the questions is below. Click “expand” to read more.
CBS This Morning
6/18/2020
8:04:07GAYLE KING: A lot of people have lots to say about there book. Democratic Congressman Adam Schiff was the lead house manager during President Trump's impeachment trial. The Intelligence Committee Chairman joins us from Potomac, Maryland. Congressman Schiff, it's really good to see you. You're the perfect person to talk to on this particular day. A lot of name-calling going on in Washington. Certainly no love lost between the two. John Bolton calls the president a liar, the president calls John Bolton a liar. Based on what you've seen and read, what concerns you most that you've seen in this book?
...
KING: And a lot of the things that we heard during the trial are now we're also reading in the book. Do you wish that the Democrats would have pushed harder to have him testify?
...
KING: Well, let's talk about the book, the price of the book. Republicans say he's a disgruntled employee with an axe to grind who is simply trying to sell a book. Do you think that that makes you -- should we take the book seriously?
REP. ADAM SCHIFF: I think we have to take the book seriously because the allegations in it are so consistent with other evidence. And I — yes, I think we do need to because the portrait it paints of the president is one that we know to be all too true. Somebody who puts his own personal interests above the national interest. That will be a continuing danger to the country over the next several months until the election. We have to take it seriously. You could certainly question, and I think should question, John Bolton's patriotism in withholding the information during an impeachment proceeding. But that doesn’t necessarily detract from the seriousness of what he alleges against the President.
KING: Yeah, one of the most stunning allegations involved Chinese President XI, that he says the President was pleading with President XI to help him win the election in this country. When you hear that, what do you think?
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KING: As chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, will you do anything now to investigate these new claims that we're hearing?
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KING: Yeah, Bolton says that Democrats committed, in his words, impeachment malpractice because of only focusing on the Ukraine part of the inquiry. Would you have handled it differently?
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KING: All right, do you plan to read the book?
SCHIFF: I don't want to give him any royalty or further income from the book, so I'll read the excerpts, but I don't intend to buy a copy.
KING: All right. Thank you very much for your time this morning, sir.
