To the surprise of probably few readers, the media have been doing their best in this election to cover for Hillary Clinton’s numerous scandals and Wednesday night provided the latest case as the “big three” of ABC, CBS, and NBC refused to acknowledge new revelations from hours earlier via the latest WikiLeaks dump that included more coziness between Clinton and the media.
CNBC correspondent John Harwood made yet another appearance in the WikiLeaks dump of Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta’s e-mails that showed Harwood trashing NBC’s Meet the Press moderator Chuck Todd for spending a large portion of a Clinton interview focused on the ongoing e-mails scandal.
The Fox News Channel (FNC) program Special Report offered a full report on the new e-mails thanks to correspondent Ed Henry, who spent a few moments quoting the Harwood e-mail:
In one cozy e-mail to Podesta, CNBC's John Harwood slammed an interview that NBC’s Chuck Todd did with Clinton. Harwood calling it “amazing...that some people still think it's worth burning so much interview time with person most likely to be next president on her emails.”
Earlier in the segment, Henry spotlighted more findings in this 12th round of Podesta e-mails that included “Chelsea Clinton rais[ing] questions about Teneo, the company the Bill Clinton's close aide Doug Band” while Band fired back that the Clinton daughter used office space at the Clinton Foundation to conduct her own business.
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One other juicy piece of information the networks refused to touch was Podesta going on CNN Wednesday afternoon to essential “all but [confirm] the authenticity of a previous e-mail calling Senator Bernie Sanders a doofus.”
Henry also added that Hillary herself came up too:
Hillary Clinton, for her part, was the target of an eyebrow raising exchange her campaign chairman John Podesta had with a liberal activist Neera Tanden last year about Clinton publically declaring she's a moderate. Podesta wrote: “She claims she didn't remember saying it. Not sure I believe her.” Tanden replied: “It worries me more that she doesn't seem to know what planet we are all living in at the moment.”
All three networks vaguely brought up the issue of WikiLeaks, but NBC Nightly News spent 35 seconds of their pre-debate coverage on the new dump but covered none of the topics mentioned above and most crucially the Harwood e-mail.
Instead, NBC News correspondent and MSNBC host Andrea Mitchell spun it this way:
A second key tonight, playing defense against those WikiLeaks emails. NBC News learning her likely response to hit Trump for praising Vladimir Putin, suspected by the FBI of being behind the hacks. The stolen messages from Clinton chairman John Podesta sure to come up tonight. More than 4,000 released just today, including this awkward account from her top strategist acknowledging her flip-flop on trade. “The reality is HRC is more pro trade than anti- and trying to turn her into something she is not could reinforce our negative around authenticity.
The relevant portions of the transcript from FNC’s Special Report with Bret Baier on October 19 can be found below.
FNC’s Special Report with Bret Baier
October 19, 2016
6:08 p.m. EasternMEGYN KELLY: We are going through another big document dump tonight from WikiLeaks. The highlights range from the soft pedaling of the e-mail scandal by the mainstream media to the in fighting within the Clinton team involving not just Hillary but also Bill Clinton and Chelsea Clinton. More from chief national correspondent Ed Henry in Washington. Ed?
ED HENRY: Round 12 of the WikiLeaks e-mail dumps brought stunning new revelations about conflicts of interest at the Clinton Foundation. After Chelsea Clinton raised questions about Teneo, the company the Bill Clinton's close aide Doug Band. Band charged in a 2011 e-mail to Cheryl Mills that Chelsea was using foundation office space to run her own business while Bob Harrison, CEO of the Clinton Global Initiative, owned a large amount of stock in Goldman-Sachs even though the Wall Street firm is a major foundation donor and Band pushed back on efforts to curtail his activities by claiming former President Bill Clinton was using the foundation to pocket big money from private companies. Band writing: “How then do we go through an exercise like this and wjc doesn't as he is far more conflicted every single day in what he does?”
(....)
HENRY: Hillary Clinton, for her part, was the target of an eyebrow raising exchange her campaign chairman John Podesta had with a liberal activist Neera Tanden last year about Clinton publically declaring she's a moderate. Podesta wrote: “She claims she didn't remember saying it. Not sure I believe her.” Tanden replied: “It worries me more that she doesn't seem to know what planet we are all living in at the moment.” Podesta today all but confirmed the authenticity of a previous e-mail calling Senator Bernie Sanders a doofus.
(....)
HENRY: We’re learning for the first time that in August 2015, as Clinton was struggling with the e-mail scandal. [TO CLINTON on 08/18/15] Did you wipe the server?
CLINTON: With a cloth?
HENRY: Aides drafted a letter where she would say: “Most of all, I regret this issue has overshadowed the service and accomplishments of the men and women of the State Department.” The letter was never sent and the controversy lingered, though some in the media have gone easy. In one cozy e-mail to Podesta, CNBC's John Harwood slammed an interview that NBC’s Chuck Todd did with Clinton. Harwood calling it “amazing...that some people still think it's worth burning so much interview time with person most likely to be next president on her emails.” Now, a cardinal — Cardinal Timothy Dolan called the anti-Catholic comments in these e-mails “insulting” and Judicial Watch has now released State Department e-mails revealing that Clinton traded notes with the I.T. specialist Brian Pagliano even though she said under oath she did not recall having the conversations.”
