On June 15, Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN) accused CNN’s Kailtan Collins of referring to Judge Aileen Cannon as “Trump-appointed” in order to instill doubt in the Trump documents case and questioned whether she would do the same if the judge was appointed by Barack Obama. Collins defended herself by saying “We talk about who judges were appointed by all the time.” Now, less than one week later we have proof from two separate Wednesday stories: one involving a Republican-appointee and one involving a Democratic appointee that shows that isn’t true.
Judge James Moody Jr. is an Obama appointee and he recently issued the radical ruling that Arkansas’s ban on transitioning minors violated the Constitution, but any reference to Obama or the Democratic Party was missing from any CNN report on the matter.
First, on Early Start, host Christine Romans reported that, “A federal judge has overturned an Arkansas ban on gender affirming care for trans youth saying it violated the U.S. Constitution. It’s a significant victory for LGBTQ advocates.”
A few hours later on CNN This Morning, host Poppy Harlow likewise reported, “So, a federal judge has overturned a ban on gender-affirming care for transgender youth in Arkansas. In an 80-page ruling, Judge James Moody Jr. said that that law violated the plaintiff's right to due process and equal protection under the Constitution.”
On The Lead, host Jake Tapper announced, “a federal judge has struck down Arkansas's ban on certain health procedures for trans minors such as puberty blockers or hormone therapy.”
Unlike the others, Tapper would also use the news to transition into a story about how Jesus demands you accept transgenderism.
Finally, Devan Cole’s write-up cnn.com’s contains zero mentions of “Obama.”
While, CNN went 0 for 4 on Moody’s affiliation, when it came to the news surrounding Justice Samuel Alito’s 2008 fishing trip to Alaska, it made sure that partisan affiliations were known, going 6 for 7, even if the word “Bush” was absent:
- CNN This Morning, Ariane de Vogue, “[Alito], took a ride on a ride on a private jet given to him by Paul Singer, this GOP player, he’s a billionaire.”
- CNN News Central, Ariane de Vogue, “before we get to that, the two takeaways from this reporting is that in 2008 Alito did accept a ride on a private jet from this man named Paul singer who is a big conservative player, a big GOP donor, to go on this luxury fishing trip and he never disclosed that on his campaign finance reports, and that ethics people say, that's a problem.”
- Inside Politics, Dana Bash, “ProPublica released an investigation into Alito and this luxury fishing trip he took in 2008, with Paul Singer, a billionaire hedge fund manager you see there on the right.
- CNN News Central, Joan Biskupic, “And what Justice Alito tried to do was minimize the claims in the story, minimize the lavish travel, minimize the trip to this Alaska fishing resort, minimize any potential conflict of interest with this Republican mega donor and hedge fund operator, Paul Singer. But it had almost the opposite effect. Because here he is protesting something and doing -- he's protesting that he has this chummy relationship with Paul Singer and others. There were others, Leonard Leo, who is a conservative activist, who brings together justices with very rich people. He's also cited in the story.
- The Lead, Jake Tapper, “An explosive new report today from ProPublica showing that a U.S. Supreme court justice accepted a luxury vacation in 2008 from a billionaire Republican mega donor who would go on to have cases pending before the high court for which the justice did not recuse himself.
- The Situation Room, Joan Biskupic, “that Samuel Alito had taken a luxury trip to Alaska back in 2008, with Paul Singer, somebody who has given lots of money for conservative causes, and has litigation before the Supreme Court.”
- cnn.com, Ariane de Vogue and Mary Kay Mallonee, “The following year, Singer once again introduced Alito at an event held by the Manhattan Institute, a conservative think tank, to which Singer has donated millions.
As it turns out, CNN does not talk about who appointed judges “all the time.” Just when they are conservatives.
CNN is sponsored by Angi.
Here are transcripts for the June 21 shows:
CNN Early Start with Christine Romans
6/21/2023
5:27 AM ET
CHRISTINE ROMANS: Quick hits across America now. A federal judge has overturned an Arkansas ban on gender affirming care for trans youth saying it violated the U.S. Constitution. It’s a significant victory for LGBTQ advocates.
***
CNN This Morning
6/21/2023
8:31 AM ET
POPPY HARLOW: So, a federal judge has overturned a ban on gender-affirming care for transgender youth in Arkansas. In an 80-page ruling, Judge James Moody Jr. said that that law violated the plaintiff's right to due process and equal protection under the Constitution. Here's part of his opinion. Quote, “Rather than protecting children or safeguarding medical ethics, the evidence showed that the prohibited medical care improves the mental health and well-being of patients and that by prohibiting it, the state undermines the interest it claims to be advancing,” closed quote. That law would have prevented medical treatment options for trans youth, including puberty blockers and hormone therapy.
***
CNN The Lead with Jake Tapper
6/21/2023
4:46 PM ET
TAPPER: In our health lead, a federal judge has struck down Arkansas's ban on certain health procedures for trans minors such as puberty blockers or hormone therapy.
The ruling is the strongest blow yet to a state's attempt to block these kind of procedures for transgender youth, with the judge writing in the decision a series of facts and findings from research, stating, quote, “gender identity is not something that an individual that control or voluntarily change” and, quote, “efforts to change a person's gender identity to become congruent with their birth-assigned sex has been attempted in the past without success and with harmful effects.” And that, quote, “decades of clinical experience have shown that adolescents with gender dysphoria experience significant positive benefits to their health and well-being from gender affirming medical care,” unquote.
But even without government intervention or intrusion, these decisions and experiences and the fallout could be difficult enough on a personal basis, within one's family, as Adrianne Broaddus reports from Indiana.
KIAH JOHNSON: This was when I first made Sephora squad.
ADRIENNE BROADDUS: And that's when Kiah Johnson identified as a gay man.KIAH JOHNSON: When I was a little boy. People were always calling me gay and I didn't even know what that was.
GINA JOHNSON, MOTHER: This is Kiah back then.
KIAH JOHNSON: Hezekiah.
GINA JOHNSON: Hezekiah back then, and then now Kiah.
BROADDUS: That's Kiah in South Korea.
KIAH JOHNSON: This is making me so emotional.
BROADDUS: Preparing for gender-affirming treatment.
GINA. JOHNSON: This is really hard for us as parents because Kiah was our only son.
BROADDUS: Gina and Ontay Johnson raised three children.
GINA JOHNSON: I was so afraid of what people was going to say about us, as parents. Us being, my husband a minister.
KIAH JOHNSON: I wouldn't choose to be trans. If I had a choice, I would not choose that because of all of the hell that I've gone through. Being a preacher's kid, I was taught that, you know, homosexuality is a bad thing.
ONTAY JOHNSON: This hasn't been an easy transition as a father. You know, there is a difference between agreement and acceptance. And for me, nope, I don't agree.
BROADDUS: Ontay went live on social media after finding out that Kiah is transgender.
ONTAY JOHNSON: People were wanting me as a father to pivot with, you know, the pronouns and all that. It's like, whoa, whoa, you know—
KIAH JOHNSON: No.
ONTAY JOHNSON: I'm just learning this. I just heard this.
GINA JOHNSON: Yeah, so, Kiah, you have to give your dad time because that's a hard pill to swallow.
KIAH JOHNSON: I'm human. Oh. Forget the trans. I'm just a human that wants to live their life. I was extremely suicidal. I was scared.
ONTAY JOHNSON: And for me, that's just not, that's a non-negotiable. I'm not going to lose my child, but here's the power of transformation. The Lord spoke very audibly to me, “Ontay, you've got to let love lead. How would Jesus, how would he handle this? What would he do?”
And so, that's really challenged my theology and my perspective. I'm still growing. I'm still learning.
