WikiLeaks, Tuesday, exposed a massive lie President Barack Obama told to the American people following the first reports of Hillary Clinton’s private e-mail server. In March of 2015 Obama told CBS News’ Bill Plante that he learned about the server, “The same time everybody else learned it through news reports.” According to the newly leaked e-mails, that is not true because he had received e-mails from Clinton’s account. But ABC News didn’t think such a deception to the public warranted any time at all, instead touting his appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live.
ABC’s Cecilia Vega started out her report on World News Tonight flaunting how confident Clinton was with just two weeks to go until the election. She then went on to hype Clinton’s endorsement from former Secretary of State Colin Powell, although the ABC reporter did mention Powell’s previous criticisms of her. From there she praised Obama for tearing into Donald Trump, “The president taking his own shots at Trump, playing along with Jimmy Kimmel's mean tweets.”
BARACK OBAMA: President Obama will go down as perhaps the worst president in the history of the United States, exclamation point, @realdonaldtrump. Well, @realdonaldtrump, at least I will go down as a president.
Even though NBC did mention the WikiLeaks e-mail exposing Obama’s knowledge of the server on NBC Nightly News, Clinton fangirl Andrea Mitchell downplayed it as just a “nagging problem” for Clinton.
With their other competitors paying it little mind, it was left up to CBS Evening News to do the grownup reporting since it was their reporter Obama had lied to. Reporter Nancy Cordes noted that, “Within minutes of the interview, Clinton's former chief of staff, Cheryl Mills told campaign aides, "We need to clean this up. He has e-mails from her. They do not say state.gov.””
Cordes also reported that Trump was using the revelation to slam both the president and Clinton. She said Trump was calling for an investigation of the president and played a clip of Trump saying, “This guy, he's as bad as she is, and he's got to stop campaigning and bring us some jobs, okay!”
Transcript below:
ABC
World News Tonight
October 25, 2016
6:37:06 PM EasternDAVID MUIR: And you heard Donald Trump there warning that Brexit is coming, that surprise outcome in the UK. He says it's going happen here, too, with him. Hillary Clinton telling her supporters, this is not over yet. And tonight, Colin Powell revealing he's now voting for Hillary Clinton. Here's ABC's Cecilia Vega, also in Florida tonight.
[Cuts to video]
CECILIA VEGA: Hillary Clinton feeling confident on a two-day swing through Florida.
HILLARY CLINTON: I feel good, but boy, I'm not taking anything for granted.
VEGA: With 14 days to go, Clinton's not so subtle message spelled out right there behind her. There are volunteers from the campaign right now trying to gather all of these people up to send them across the street, where they can actually vote today.
CLINTON CAMPAIGN STAFFER: Let's go vote! Let's go vote!
CLINTON SUPPORTER 1: I voted yesterday!
CLINTON SUPPORTER 2: We're going to vote right now.
VEGA: Florida, one of 36 states where voting is under way. Nationwide, nearly 9 million votes already cast. And tonight, Clinton is getting a boost from a top Republican. Former secretary of state Colin Powell. Powell and Clinton publicly sparred over her use of private e-mails. Clinton's team implying Powell was the one who suggested she use it. Powell telling People magazine, "Her people have been trying to pin it on me." In hacked e-mails, Powell saying of Clinton, "I would rather not have to vote for her, although she is a friend I respect." And "Clinton doesn't look good. She’s working herself to death."
But today, Powell announced he will vote for Clinton, reportedly saying "She is balanced, she had temperament and no matter what anyone says, she has stamina." He also attacked Donald Trump, saying, "He has insulted America in one way almost every day." Powell twice voted for President Obama. The president taking his own shots at Trump, playing along with Jimmy Kimmel's mean tweets.
BARACK OBAMA: President Obama will go down as perhaps the worst president in the history of the United States, exclamation point, @realdonaldtrump. Well, @realdonaldtrump, at least I will go down as a president.
[Cuts back to live]
MUIR: And Cecilia Vega also in Florida tonight. The key battleground. Joining us now from Pompano Beach. And Cecilia, late today, Hillary Clinton now weighing in about those headlines, the skyrocketing premiums under ObamaCare in the year to come. How does she explain it?
VEGA: Well, David, she says she and President Obama have spoken about this, that she says she's going to, quote, “make changes to fix problems like that.” Clinton making sure to point out that she is for Obamacare, that Donald Trump is not, but David, few specifics tonight From Hillary Clinton on how she would fix this problem. David?
MUIR: All right, Cecilia Vega live from Florida where she will be quite often these next few days. Cecilia, thank you.
...
CBS
Evening News
October 25, 2016
6:31:07 PM Eastern
...
Everywhere she goes, she is stalked by WikiLeaks, a batch of hacked e-mails released today included one that seemed to contradict what the president told CBS' Bill Plante in March of 2015.
BILL PLANTE: When did you first learn that Hillary Clinton used an e-mail system outside the US government for official business while she was secretary of state?
BARACK OBAMA: The same time everybody else learned it through news reports.
CORDES: Within minutes of the interview, Clinton's former chief of staff, Cheryl Mills told campaign aides, "We need to clean this up. He has e-mails from her. They do not say state.gov.”
DONALD TRUMP: He's caught up now, folks.
CORDES: In Orlando, Trump said the president should be investigated.
TRUMP: This guy, he's as bad as she is, and he's got to stop campaigning and bring us some jobs, okay!
...
