In yet another display of loyalty to its liberal taskmasters, CNN’s Thursday morning reporting on the House Judiciary Committee hearing with FBI Director Wray consisted of CNN This Morning anchors Phil Mattingly and Pamela Brown complaining about how the “Republican leaders destroy the credibility” of the FBI by “attacking someone like Chris Wray” in their hearing.
Along with CNN senior crime and justice correspondent Shimon Prokupecz, former Homeland Security and Counterterrorism advisor Olivia Troye, CNN legal analyst Elliot Williams, and Reuters White House correspondent Jeff Mason, these journalists complained about Republican demonetization of the FBI and their insistence on this hearing, saying that they had become “off-brand” and “anti-law enforcement” because of the “Trumpism” that had apparently invaded the Party.
The segment began with Brown discussing the matter with Troye, asking her about the “attacks” that Republicans were making on Wray and, apparently, “on the country.” Troye bemoaned how “it’s insane that we have Republicans attacking someone like Chris Wray,” whose Republican affiliation seemingly should have made him incapable of being attacked by other Republicans, regardless of any alleged corruption or untrustworthiness occurring under his watch.
Troye also complained about Republican efforts to “undermine the confidence like that in a federal law enforcement organization” and “destroy the credibility” of the FBI, “eroding at the fibers of what our country is based on…which is the rule of law in our democracy.”
She seemed to be placing the blame for the need for a hearing on the Republicans’ nitpicking of Wray’s work, rather than on the alleged corruption and favoritism that existed in the way that the system had been run.
Prokupecz interjected here to whine about Republicans wanting to defund the FBI, and how their approach to the hearing “went into places that it should not have gone, and took away from what they’re supposed to be doing.”
Mattingly then asked Williams about the “legitimate questions” that could be asked in such a situation:
That’s what I wanna ask you about, the legitimate questions. Because Shimon makes a great point. From an oversight perspective, if you look through the Durham report, if you look through some of the surveillance issues on Pfizer-related issues, if you look through January 6th, frankly if you try and dig in on some of the Hunter Biden stuff, and how long that investigation took, there are legitimate questions that should be probed by Congress.
Williams admitted that these might be fair questions to ask, but claimed that the Republicans had skewed the purpose of the hearing to suit their own interests:
The Durham report, same thing, a fair question, but what happens here, is that the current majority then takes it into the whole, government is stacked against you, there’s a conspiracy between Pfizer, and Google, and—and—and vaccines, and all kinds of nonsense that really gets away from the core function that they ought to be performing, which is making sure that law enforcement is serving the American people. And there’s just a lotta noise.
Here, Brown asked Mason about this issue, who promptly blamed “Trumpism” for how “anti-law enforcement” Republicans had apparently become, simply because they wanted to investigate suspicious activity and results for corruption.
Looking into corruption and favoritism in any governmental system seems to be bad then, at least, according to the liberals who run the country and had stakes in the enterprise. Makes plenty of sense.
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Transcript of the segment below (click Expand):
CNN This Morning
7/13/23
6:21:30 AM ET
PAMELA BROWN: Olivia, what was your take on that, and how harmful do you think these attacks are on the country?
OLIVIA TROYE: Look, I think it was important for him to state that. I mean, I think it’s—it’s insane that we have Republicans attacking someone like Chris Wray, who served in the George W. Bush administration with me, someone who is well respected in law enforcement circles. I mean, you know, he was confirmed with all Republican votes voting in favor of him at his confirmation, right?
It’s amazing how much this has boomeranged to turn around and attack him because it’s politically convenient right now, in this moment. I think it’s a disgrace.
I also think that in the eyes of the international community—I watched that hearing yesterday and all I kept thinking was, for our national security and out homeland security, both domestically, to undermine the confidence like that in an—a federal law enforcement organization, and internationally. Our foreign adversaries must have been laughing yesterday because they’re watching Republican leaders destroy the credibility of our own agencies in such a manner that is t—very, you know, it—it’s eroding at the fibers of what our country is based on…
SHIMON PROKUPECZ: Well, I just think though…
TROYE: …which is rule of law in our democracy.
PROKUPECZ: The whole thing of defunding the FBI, right? I mean, this was something that you know, came up with defunding the police, and—and what happened there. But yet now you have Republicans who are sitting there saying, “Well, you know, defund the FBI,” and—and there’s issues over, now they’re gonna give them money for a—a new building.
I mean, it—it sort of went into places that it—it should not have gone, and it took away from what they’re supposed to be doing, ‘cause there are legitimate questions about the FBI, and things that they need to be asking here.
PHIL MATTINGLY: …
PROKUPECZ: January 6th, yeah.
MATTINGLY: …if you look through January 6th, frankly if you try and dig in on some of the Hunter Biden stuff, and how long that investigation took, there are legitimate questions that should be probed by Congress.
ELLIOT WILLIAMS: Even if it’s not a matter of legitimate specific questions, the whole enterprise is itself legitimate and ought to be legitimate. It’s a core function of Congress that they ought to oversee, number one, how the FBI is spending the American people’s money, and number two, how they’re carrying out their enforcement mission, which is both, not just law enforcement, but counterterrorism as well, it’s the only law enforcement entity in our government that’s both law enforcement and counterterrorism.
And so, with respect to Hunter Biden, ask the questions about whether the Justice Department is politicized, or the FBI’s politicized, and it’s a fair question to ask.
The Durham report, same thing, a fair question, but what happens here, is that the current majority then takes it into the whole, government is stacked against you, there’s a conspiracy between Pfizer, and Google, and—and—and vaccines, and all kinds of nonsense that really gets away from the core function that they ought to be performing, which is making sure that law enforcement is serving the American people. And there’s just a lotta noise.
BROWN: Yeah, and just to take a step back here, I mean, you know, this is supposed to be—the Republicans are supposed to be the party of law and order, right?
JEFF MASON: Exactly.
TROYE: Exactly.
BROWN: I mean, how did we get here, Jeff?
MASON: Yeah. And we were talking about that a little bit before.
BROWN: Yeah.
MASON: It's—it’s so off-brand with what the Republican Party used to be, and that's sort of a—example of where Trumpism has taken that Party. It's raising questions about defunding the police, defunding the FBI, being anti-law enforcement, when that was really a core principle of who the Republicans were.
And I think that—I mean, I understand politically why the Trump law—Trump-associated lawmakers are asking questions like that, some of them legitimate, many of them resonating with people in President Trump—former President Trump's base.
But it's going to bring up questions during the general election that I know the Democrats are gonna ask…
WILLIAMS: And, look…
MASON: …and what Biden people are gonna ask about, wait, we—we're pro-law enforcement, and where are you guys?
WILLIAMS: You know, and I think a lot of this is focused on Christopher Wray, the man. Well, he's a registered Republican. Therefore, you know, hold your fire.
I worked in law enforcement for a long time, both at ICE and the Justice Department. It's anecdotal. I—you know, I’m not—I never did a card check here.
Law enforcement skews pretty conservative at the federal level. And the—and the idea that it is this deep-state cabal of people who are out and colluding to go after Republicans is nonsense.
If you talk to FBI agents or work with them, and talk about politics at all, which people don't, it's—it's a truly mind-boggling allegation about, sort of, the rank-and-file and where their orientation is. And—and the fact that they're—they’re working hand-in-hand with political leadership at the White House to go after Republicans. It's simply nonsense.
MATTINGLY: I will say, to Jeff's point, you feel like Democratic ad makers, like the lightbulbs are just going off in their heads throughout the course of these hearings.
Also, if you guys are talking about cool stuff before the show, don't. Save it for the panel. For the panel. This is not a green room.
(CROSSTALK)
MASON: We were just getting warmed up. We were getting warmed up.
BROWN: It was just a dress rehearsal, not the real deal, okay? All good. Thank you all so much, Shimon, Elliot, Olivia, Jeff. Thanks so much. We appreciate it.
