On Wednesday, the CBS Evening News with Scott Pelley was the lone network evening newscast to cover the confirmation hearings of Attorney General nominee Loretta Lynch before the Senate Judiciary Committee and while that was the case, it was not without bias.
Even though CBS News congressional correspondent Nancy Cordes featured numerous soundbites from Senate Republicans questioning Lynch, she failed to include how Lynch stated her support for people being able to seek work in the United States, regardless of their legal status.
Overall, the topic of illegal immigration came up only twice in Cordes’s 2-minute-and-five-second story with the first being how the GOP “did not like her take on the president's recent executive action granting legal status to some undocumented workers.”
The other mention was a soundbite of Republican Senator David Vitter (La.) telling Lynch that he had “a huge concern regarding what I think is the President's illegal, unconstitutional executive amnesty” and “that you think it is within the law.”
While that was what viewers on CBS heard about Lynch and illegal immigration, Allahpundit at Hot Air provided a more encapsulating summary of what Lynch actually thought about the topic.
In response to question from Republican Senator Jeff Sessions (Ala.) concerning illegal immigration and the workforce, Lynch stated her belief “that the right and the obligation to work is one that’s shared by everyone in this country regardless of how they came here.”
Sessions immediately asked Lynch to expand upon her point and, after multiple attempts, Lynch said that “we have in place at this point in time a legal framework that requests or requires employers to both provide information about citizenship as well as not hire individuals without citizenship.”
The relevant portions of the transcript from the CBS Evening News with Scott Pelley on January 28 are transcribed below.
CBS Evening News with Scott Pelley
January 28, 20156:30 p.m. Eastern [TEASE]
[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE CAPTION: The Nominee]
SCOTT PELLEY: Nancy Cordes has the confirmation hearings for America’s top law enforcement official and the big issue for Republicans:
REPUBLICAN SENATOR JOHN CORNYN (Tex.): You’re not Eric Holder, are you?
LORETTA LYNCH: No I’m not, sir.
(....)
6:37 p.m. Eastern
[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE CAPTION: Confirmation Hearing]
PELLEY: In Washington, we heard today from the woman whose to become the top law enforcement officer in the land. Loretta Lynch appeared before the Senate in hopes of becoming the next Attorney General. She is a long-time federal prosecutor from New York. Hear's Nancy Cordes.
REPUBLICAN SENATOR CHARLIE GRASSLEY (Iowa): So help you god.
LYNCH: I do.
NANCY CORES: Many of the questions Lynch faced today were not about her. They were about her predecessor.
CORNYN: You're not Eric Holder, are you?
LYNCH: I'm no sir.
CORDES: Over the past six years, Republicans have clashed repeatedly with Holder.
(....)
CORDES: Who they see as a legal rubber stamp for President Obama's policies. Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions.
REPUBLICAN SENATOR JEFF SESSIONS (Ala.): You understand that your role is such that, on occasion, you have to say no to the person who actually appointed you to the job and who you support?
LYNCH: Senator, I do understand that is, in fact, the role and the responsibility of the Attorney General.
CORDES: Lynch is a Harvard-educated U.S. Attorney who grew up in North Carolina shortly after desegregation and was her high school’s black valedictorian. Sitting behind Lynch today were dozens of proud sorority sisters.
LYNCH: I will always listen to your concerns because there's a great collective wisdom here.
CORDES: Republicans liked that, but they did not like her take on the president's recent executive action granting legal status to some undocumented workers. Louisiana’s David Vitter:
REPUBLICAN SENATOR DAVID VITTER (La.): I have a huge concern regarding what I think is the President's illegal, unconstitutional executive amnesty, and I have a huge concern of the fact that you think it is within the law
CORDES: Still, Lynch's confirmation does not appear to be in doubt. Both sides praised her reputation and qualifications today, but it could take a while, Scott. The Judiciary Committee may not vote until late February and, even then, the full Senate needs to vote as well.
