On CNN Thursday night, the proverbial moving of the goal posts regarding the Jeff Sessions situation was on full display, shifting from demanding recusal in Russian investigations to resignation and calls for charges of perjury and treason.
The drumbeat was started in the show by political commentator and long-time journalist Carl Bernstein, who lamented to AC360 fill-in host John Berman that “part of this whole story is about lies from the beginning” dating back to Sessions being named the Trump campaign’s lead national security adviser.
Bernstein extrapolated that, based on the fact, Sessions had to have known about the various campaign officials coming into contact with Russian officials as he went onto become Attorney General.
“We have got a situation that calls for a special prosecutor or a Select Committee of the Senate of the United States to get to the bottom of all of this. It is very clear that Sessions has lied. Whether or not he's guilty of perjury, technically, that’s another question,” Bernstein declared.
<<< Please support MRC's NewsBusters team with a tax-deductible contribution today. >>>
The CNN analyst then lashed out at Sessions and President Donald Trump: “He's lied to the Senate. He has lied to the American people. The President has lied about those in his campaign and about his own actions and this is an ongoing story, particularly how did Donald Trump come to his positions about Russia.”
In the next block, NY1 anchor and CNN political commentator Errol Louis continued the drumbeat of resignation in a perfect representation of the liberal playbook, which is demanding opponents do something to only then deem it insufficient.
“The question from earlier today, which seems like a lifetime ago now, is are we talking recusal or are we talking resignation? Well, we — we’ve had a discussion about recusal. The Attorney General has wisely taken himself out of the cross hairs of what I think most reasonable people would say is a clear problem, a clear conflict of interest,” Louis began.
As stated above, Louis then all but discarded the recusal in favor of whether Sessions must now resign and/or face perjury charges:
But now, we have the question of resignation which is still hanging out there to this extent. The question of what he said under oath and whether or not Congress, members of Congress really, really want to step on the gas and really push that and say, listen. You are not being forthright with us. This constitutes some form of contempt or of perjury and we’re not going to just look the other way and let it happen.
Like a good member of the liberal media, he concluded with this promise: “To the extent they want to push that, we’re going to be talking about this for quite a while.”
If Bernstein and Louis were enough, readers, you are sadly mistaken. Former Clinton adviser and CNN political commentator Mary Cardona took it one step further. While lambasting Sessions for supposedly lying to Congress, she suggested he was involved in acts of treason:
He did not say as a surrogate I had no communication with the Russians. He said I had no communication with the Russians, period. That is a lie and he did it under oath. Michael Flynn lost his job for just lying to the Vice President. This man lied under oath to the Senate Judiciary Committee and the American people. And by the way, I'm sorry, but I don't buy it when he says, oh, I didn't remember. I didn't know what the question was. He knows he is smack in the middle of this investigation having to do with perhaps treasonous activities by the Trump campaign.
American Conservative Union president Matt Schlapp called her out and wondered what Cardona would say when there’s a real “serious problem.” However, any pushback was stymied by Berman cutting to a commercial break, directing his comments at Cardona and Schlapp to “hold the scoffing.”
Here’s the relevant portions of the transcript from CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360 on March 2:
CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360
March 2, 2017
8:14 p.m. Eastern
CARL BERNSTEIN: Look, part of this whole story is about lies from the beginning. We need to look at Attorney General Sessions appointment as Donald Trump’s chief national security adviser for the campaign back in March of 2016. He was in charge of all this and then he became the Attorney General of the United States and became in charge of the investigation that is ongoing in the federal government. We have got a situation that calls for a special prosecutor or a Select Committee of the Senate of the United States to get to the bottom of all of this. It is very clear that Sessions has lied. Whether or not he's guilty of perjury, technically, that’s another question. He's lied to the Senate. He has lied to the American people. The President has lied about those in his campaign and about his own actions and this is an ongoing story, particularly how did Donald Trump come to his positions about Russia, do this reset, what is behind it, where his financial holdings have anything to do with it. We know nothing really in terms of the real story yet, except it keeps dripping out and it is going to take serious investigating to get to the bottom of it and it's not going to go away.
JOHN BERMAN: It does change — it seems — from day-to-day.
(....)
ERROL LOUIS: The question from earlier today, which seems like a lifetime ago now, is are we talking recusal or are we talking resignation? Well, we — we’ve had a discussion about recusal. The Attorney General has wisely taken himself out of the cross hairs of what I think most reasonable people would say is a clear problem, a clear conflict of interest. But now, we have the question of resignation which is still hanging out there to this extent. The question of what he said under oath and whether or not Congress, members of Congress really, really want to step on the gas and really push that and say, listen. You are not being forthright with us. This constitutes some form of contempt or of perjury and we’re not going to just look the other way and let it happen. To the extent they want to push that, we’re going to be talking about this for quite a while.
(....)
MARY CARDONA: In fact, he said, and I quote, I did not have any communication with the Russians, period.
MATT SCHLAPP: As a surrogate.
CARDONA: No. He did not say as a surrogate I had no communication with the Russians. He said I had no communication with the Russians, period. That is a lie and he did it under oath. Michael Flynn lost his job for just lying to the Vice President. This man lied under oath to the Senate Judiciary Committee and the American people. And by the way, I'm sorry, but I don't buy it when he says, oh, I didn't remember. I didn't know what the question was. He knows he is smack in the middle of this investigation having to do with perhaps treasonous activities by the Trump campaign.
SCHLAPP: Come on.
BERMAN: Hang on, hang on, hang on.
CARDONA: Absolutely.
BERMAN: Hold on one second, everyone.
CARDONA: This is what is being investigated —
SCHLAPP: What are we going to do when we have a serious problem?
BERMAN: Hold the thoughts. Hold the scoffing.
CARDONA: — and for him to — for him to forget? Come on.
