Network newscasts like to catch politicians being hypocritical, at least when they’re Republicans. But ABC and NBC, so far, haven’t show any interest in grainy 2010 video of then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton lecturing her subordinates on the “special duty” to protect against hacking and vulnerabilities. CBS This Morning on Friday did play the tape.
Clinton, who famously didn’t seem concerned when she used a private e-mail server, told colleagues at State: “I think this is a responsibility we all share as Americans. But as State Department employees, we have a special duty to guard ourselves and our sensitive information.” She added, “Potential hackers use all kinds of strategies to exploit cyber vulnerabilities and to penetrate the Department's systems.”
Despite a combined six hours of air time, NBC’s Today and ABC’s Good Morning America avoided the awkwardness for the Democrat. It wasn’t like there wasn’t time, considering the frivolous subjects the networks devoted resources on. GMA focused on Lady Gaga’s new album for four minutes and 42 seconds. Today spent over a minute on the 1986 Janet Jackson song “Nasty.”
On CBS, Margaret Brennan played the clip and then noted, “Ironic, of course, because cyber security has become a major election issue and Clinton has come under fire for her personal use of e-mail servers while she was Secretary of State.”
However, she made sure to read a defensive statement from the Clinton campaign: “This is not new. It has been widely reported during Clinton's tenure the State Department issued these kinds of warnings about possible cyber security to employees. These warnings were more than appropriate given that it was subsequently confirmed that State's e-mail was hacked.”
But at least CBS covered the story. Will ABC and NBC follow-up?
A transcript is below:
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CBS TM
10/21/16
8:04:17 to 8:05:22
1 minute and 5 seconds
MARGARET BRENNAN: CBS News has obtained video from 2010 showing then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warning colleagues to be vigilant about cyber security.
HILLARY CLINTON: I think this is a responsibility we all share as Americans. But as State Department employees, we have a special duty to guard ourselves and our sensitive information. Potential hackers use all kinds of strategies to exploit cyber vulnerabilities and to penetrate the Department’s systems.
BRENNAN: Ironic, of course, because cyber security has become a major election issue and Clinton has come under fire for her personal use of e-mail servers while she was Secretary of State. And U.S. government officials are accused Russia of hacking into Democratic National Committee e-mails and voter databases. The Clinton campaign respond to the video in a statement saying, “This is not new. It has been widely reported during Clinton's tenure the State Department issued these kinds of warnings about possible cyber security to employees. These warnings were more than appropriate given that it was subsequently confirmed that State’s e-mail was hacked.”
