On CNN Right Now Wednesday, host Brianna Keilar gushed over a cartoon dramatization of the Mueller report. An excited Keilar talked about how “there’s now an entertaining way that you can catch up” on the details of the Mueller report.” This “entertaining way” came in the form of a graphic novel designed to follow Insider’s instructions to “tell a story recounting Mueller’s report that’s so gripping it will hold your attention (and maybe your congressional representative’s).”
Keilar gleefully reported that “what they got is supposed to read like a thriller and it covers all of the major moments,” including President Trump asking for loyalty from James Comey, the “oval office screaming match where the President demanded more protection from his then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions,” as well as the President’s order to fire the Special Counsel. In other words, it looks like Insider has created a cartoon version of an impeachment roadmap.
After summarizing the main points of the cartoon, Keilar brought on Nicholas Carlson, the Global Editor-in-Chief of Insider, Incorporated to discuss the cartoon further; apparently ignoring the old adage “a picture paints 1,000 words.” In the case of this cartoon dramatization, it seems like the pictures only paint three words: “Trump obstructed justice.”
Not surprisingly, the cartoon featured very unflattering visual portrayals of President Trump, painting him as extremely angry and unhinged. Specifically, the portrayal of President Trump’s order to fire Special Counsel Mueller featured President Trump angrily screaming into a cell phone, with the light from the phone illuminating his face in the contrast of a dark background. Keilar brought up the illustrations during her interview with Carlson, describing them as “creative liberties.”
Carlson told Keilar that he did not see the cartoon as a substitute for reading the Mueller report and urged lawmakers to download the audio version of the Mueller report and play it at 1.5 speed. Throughout the entire segment, the chyron at the bottom of the screen read: “Blockbuster Hearing: Author Writes Thriller-Like Version of Mueller Report to Encourage People to Read It.” The phrase “blockbuster hearing” refers to Special Counsel Mueller’s testimony on Capitol Hill next week that the media and the left hope will serve as an impetus for impeachment.
Insider’s attempt to create a “thriller-like version” of the Mueller Report comes as the latest attempt from the left to make the 448-page document more exciting to the American public. Hollywood has pulled out all the stops to present the Mueller Report as a “smoking gun” for impeachment from putting on a dramatic reading of the report at a New York City church livestreamed nationwide to creating fake audition tapes for a make-believe movie on the Mueller Report. Hollywood and the Democrats just can’t get over the Mueller Report and based on this segment on CNN and the ridiculous cartoon that it focused on, it looks like the media cannot let it go either.
A transcript of the relevant portion of Wednesday’s edition of CNN Right Now is below. Click “expand” to read more.
CNN Right Now With Brianna Keilar
07/10/19
01:38 PM
BRIANNA KEILAR: And if you are not up to speed on the Mueller report, do not worry. Not only are you probably not alone, but there’s now an entertaining way that you can catch up. Insider hired journalist Mark Bowden, the author of “Black Hawk Down,” and illustrator Chad Hurd, and they gave them this instruction, “Tell a story recounting Mueller’s report that’s so gripping it will hold your attention (and maybe your congressional representative’s.)” And what they got is supposed to read like a thriller and it covers all of the major moments. You have got the dinner where President Trump requested loyalty from then-FBI Director James Comey. There’s an…the Oval Office screaming match where the President demanded more protection from his then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions. And, yes, it does, as well, include his order to fire Robert Mueller. Let’s bring in Nicholas Carlson. He’s the global editor-in-chief of Insider, Incorporated. Okay, tell us how this came to be. Tell us why you decided to do this.
NICHOLAS CARLSON: Right. So, it’s pretty clear to us that no one’s reading the Mueller report. In fact, there is…and they still aren’t. In fact, some of the most important people in the country aren’t reading it. So, there was a report today in Politico that lawmakers are admitting that they haven’t read this. One of them actually said “What’s the point?” Well, there’s obviously a big point. It’s a document detailing possible crimes by the current American President. So, we thought it would be really important to get it into a more digestible format. So, that’s what we went out and got Mark Bowden to do and also hired Chad Hurd, from the show “Archer” to draw scenes from it. And we’ve created something that I think is not only fun to read, but gets at what a lot of people missed in the Mueller report and…and really moves past, I think, a lot of…what might be a red herring, which is focusing too much on the Russia/collusion conspiracy bit of Volume I and not really paying attention to the question of obstruction of justice, which is in Volume II.
KEILAR: Were…and clearly, creative liberties were taken with the pictures. But were any other creative liberties taken with the writing?
CARLSON: With the writing, no. And even with the pictures, I mean, there was every attempt made to make them as factual as possible. Obviously, when you’re drawing from…drawing a scene based on words, there will be creative liberties. The, the…no, we had a team of fact checkers go through this document and make sure that it stuck to what Robert Mueller and firsthand accounts and fact check publishers have…have already said. But it’s…it relied mostly on the Mueller report.
KEILAR: So you think…is it a substitute, in your opinion, for the Mueller report…for reading the Mueller report?
CARLSON: No, listen, I think that…I, I think it’s a really good starting point. And I think that, you know, for…for your average person in the American public who has ignored this document, which is impossible to get through, I hope that we can kind of present the case that I think Mueller was trying to make. But the lawmakers, they should just go to Audible and download the audio version and listen to it at 1.5X speed. And, and maybe they’ll get through it. They really should.
KEILAR: That…that’s how you save the time. One and a…sounds weird, saves time. All right. Thank you so much, Nick Carlson. We appreciate it.
CARLSON: Thank you.
