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1. NBC's Today Treats Sen. Clinton as Victim in Fundraising Trial NBC's Today on Tuesday focused on the start of the federal trial of David Rosen, the chief fundraiser for Hillary Clinton's 2000 New York Senate campaign, who is charged with falsifying the cost of a fundraising event so that Mrs. Clinton's campaign could pocket an additional $800,000. But instead of scrutinizing the Democratic presidential frontrunner's integrity, NBC treated her as the victim of attacks. Their on-screen tag: "Campaign Against Hillary." Reporter Campbell Brown fretted that despite how "the Justice Department says Senator Clinton was never a target of the investigation, longtime Clinton foes like the conservative watchdog group, Judicial Watch, still want to see the Senator in the hot seat." Brown warned viewers not to think the former First Lady had done anything wrong. "We should say right up front that Hillary Clinton is not a part of the trial. She was never a target of the investigation," Brown told co-host Matt Lauer. Brown ended her report by repeating her exoneration of Mrs. Clinton: "It's pretty clear the trial itself is about David Rosen and she's not gonna get sucked into that." 2. PBS's David Brancaccio Cues Up Garofalo, Hits Barr from the Left Though on Friday's PBS show Now, new solo host David Brancaccio promised that the program would feature "two outspoken voices that span the political spectrum," the episode illustrated that the leftist tilt delivered by previous host Bill Moyers continues. Brancaccio repeatedly cued up Air America radio host Janeane Garofalo to spout her left wing points, even making some for her, but when his conservative guest, former Congressman Bob Barr -- who was brought aboard to express, unimpeded, his anti-Bush administration views on the Patriot Act -- defended Bush's judicial nominations whom Senate Democrats are blocking, Brancaccio pounced on him. Brancaccio suggested: "What about this crazy scenario? The Bush administration says: 'Okay let's end this stuff by proposing some more moderate names'?" When Barr assured him none of the nominees are "kooks," Brancaccio countered: "That's sort of a debate right there, there's plenty of Democrats who do think there are a few in the kook category." Brancaccio also challenged Barr from the left on same-sex marriage and being tougher on Clinton than DeLay. With Garofalo, Brancaccio helped her make her points about how conservatives distort reality: "Whatever you do, do not say -- do not say drilling for oil, you're supposed to say, 'responsible energy exploration.'" 3. FNC's Hume Picks Up on MRC's Labeling Study and CyberAlert Item You read it here first. On Tuesday night, FNC's Brit Hume combined two MRC reports, a CyberAlert article about how the networks portrayed the source of "controversy" during President Bush's trip to Eastern Europe, and a Media Reality Check study on how in the last six months the networks have applied many more conservative than liberal labels, into one "Grapevine" item. NBC's Today Treats Sen. Clinton as Victim in Fundraising Trial NBC's Today on Tuesday focused on the start of the federal trial of David Rosen, the chief fundraiser for Hillary Clinton's 2000 New York Senate campaign, who is charged with falsifying the cost of a fundraising event so that Mrs. Clinton's campaign could pocket an additional $800,000. But instead of scrutinizing the Democratic presidential frontrunner's integrity, NBC treated her as the victim of attacks. Their on-screen tag: "Campaign Against Hillary." Reporter Campbell Brown fretted that despite how "the Justice Department says Senator Clinton was never a target of the investigation, longtime Clinton foes like the conservative watchdog group, Judicial Watch, still want to see the Senator in the hot seat." Brown warned viewers not to think the former First Lady had done anything wrong. "We should say right up front that Hillary Clinton is not a part of the trial. She was never a target of the investigation," Brown told co-host Matt Lauer. Brown ended her report by repeating her exoneration of Mrs. Clinton: "It's pretty clear the trial itself is about David Rosen and she's not gonna get sucked into that." [Rich Noyes, the MRC's Director of Research, submitted this item for CyberAlert.] For their part, ABC's Good Morning America and CBS's The Early Show skipped the start of Rosen's trial.
While the NBC morning team went to great pains to make sure their audience did not walk away with the impression that Hillary Clinton might have an ethical problem, they have shown no such concern for House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, who has been neither charged nor convicted of any wrongdoing. Back on the April 18 Today, MRC's Geoff Dickens noticed at the time, reporter Chip Reid seemed to presume DeLay's guilt:
Compare that approach, where the only defense of DeLay came from a Republican colleague, with the way Campbell Brown on Tuesday repeatedly insisted that any tarnishing of Hillary for the possible criminal conduct of her fundraiser was unfair. Matt Lauer introduced the segment, which aired about 7:08am EDT: With the words "Campaign Against Hillary" on screen, Brown began by assuring viewers that even though "her enemies" would focus on the fundraiser's trial, Hillary herself is blameless: "Good morning, Matt. And we should say right up front that Hillary Clinton is not a part of the trial. She was never a target of the investigation but the trial is giving a new stage to her enemies turning up the heat as more people speculate she could be the Democratic nominee for President in 2008." Brown went on to discuss the background of the case: "But the story begins in Los Angeles during Hillary Clinton's campaign for Senate, August 2000. A star-studded Hollywood fundraiser cost more than a million dollars to throw. The Clinton campaign fundraiser, David Rosen, reported the cost at only about $400,000. The Justice Department claims Rosen intentionally under-reported the cost so the campaign could have extra funds to spend elsewhere. David Rosen denies the charge and a spokesman for Senator Clinton said in a statement her campaign quote, 'has fully cooperated with the investigation and we trust that when all the facts are in, Mr. Rosen will be cleared.'"
Sounding like a '90s soundtrack, Brown suggested that those who wanted an investigation of Hillary Clinton's role were motivated by mindless hate: "While the Justice Department says Senator Clinton was never a target of the investigation, longtime Clinton foes like the conservative watchdog group, Judicial Watch, still want to see the Senator in the hot seat." While Brown saw little connection to Hillary Clinton, New York Post columnist Dick Morris, the guru of Bill Clinton's 1996 re-election bid, argued in a Tuesday column, the case could wind up having a lot to do with Mrs. Clinton. Part of the evidence against Rosen is a conversation he had with Ted Kennedy's brother-in-law Raymond Reggie, which Reggie surreptitiously taped for the government. Morris noted that "on the tape, Rosen says he spoke to then-President Bill Clinton regularly -- at least once a week -- about the campaign fund-raising. What could the president have told him that the federal prosecutors would find interesting? We may find out." An excerpt of Morris' May 10 column, headlined "Steak Dinner Could Cook Hill": The Justice Department case against David Rosen, national finance chairman of Hillary Clinton's 2000 Senate race, is getting stronger, increasing the odds the aide will start cooperating with the government -- which could be disastrous for the senator's ambitions. Rosen has been indicted for deliberately reporting that the cost of an August 2000 Hollywood fund-raising gala was only $400,000 when the actual tab was $1.2 million -- a step that let Mrs. Clinton spend $800,000 more in "hard money" for her campaign. (After Hillary and opponent Rick Lazio agreed to ban soft money, both camps were scrambling to maximize their hard money on hand). The New Orleans Times-Picayune has reported on a transcript of a Sept. 4, 2002, audiotape of a dinner between Rosen and Ted Kennedy in-law Raymond Reggie, who was wearing a wire. Most news accounts have left out the fact that Rosen implicated himself with each bite of steak. On tape, the paper reported, Rosen "acknowledges that the gala probably cost far more to produce than he reported on federal campaign forms." Rosen says of the fund-raiser, "We woulda never done it if the guy [Peter Paul] said he spent $2 million. So now he's [Paul] saying he spent $2 million on an event that raised $1.4." Rosen goes on to agree that "he may have" spent the $2 million. Reggie, whose sister is Ted Kennedy's wife, will get no more than five years in prison on bank-fraud convictions in return for cooperation and testimony at Rosen's trial.... The Times-Picayune reports that the feds have "lined up several other witnesses who will testify that Rosen was aware the event cost far more than his reports indicated." The federal brief says that Rosen "became increasingly panicked as the costs began to spiral out of control. On some occasions, when news of yet another cost was revealed to him, the defendant literally threw up his hands and announced that 'I did not just hear that,' 'Don't tell me that again' and that he did not want the subject discussed around him again." The feds also say Rosen directed one witness to "take thousands of dollars of line items" off a campaign report about the event's costs and told a "confidante" that there was "no way" he could accurately report the cost of the fund-raiser."... On the tape, Rosen says he spoke to then-President Bill Clinton regularly -- at least once a week -- about the campaign fund-raising. What could the president have told him that the federal prosecutors would find interesting? We may find out. END of Excerpt To read the New York Post column in full, go to: www.nypost.com
PBS's David Brancaccio Cues Up Garofalo, Hits Barr from the Left
Though on Friday's PBS show Now, new solo host David Brancaccio promised that the program would feature "two outspoken voices that span the political spectrum," the episode illustrated that the leftist tilt delivered by previous host Bill Moyers continues. Brancaccio repeatedly cued up Air America radio host Janeane Garofalo to spout her left wing points, even making some for her, but when his conservative guest, former Congressman Bob Barr -- who was brought aboard to express, unimpeded, his anti-Bush administration views on the Patriot Act -- defended Bush's judicial nominations whom Senate Democrats are blocking, Brancaccio pounced on him. Brancaccio suggested: "What about this crazy scenario? The Bush administration says: 'Okay let's end this stuff by proposing some more moderate names'?" When Barr assured him none of the nominees are "kooks," Brancaccio countered: "That's sort of a debate right there, there's plenty of Democrats who do think there are a few in the kook category." Brancaccio didn't reprimand Garofalo for any hypocrisy, but with Barr he recalled how he was "the attack dog among them, during the Clinton/Monica Lewinsky affair," but with Tom DeLay's he's been a "pussycat." With Garofalo, Brancaccio helped her make her points about how conservatives distort reality: "You're not supposed to say taking prisoners and sending them to countries that torture, you're supposed to say 'rendition'" and "whatever you do, do not say -- do not say drilling for oil, you're supposed to say, 'responsible energy exploration.'" When Garofalo swerved off point, he brought her back: "There's the label 'activist judges. That's really perhaps, it could be considered another one of these." Meanwhile, Garofalo showed she still can't accept last November's victory by George W. Bush. She charged: "There's no way that the right wing of any country represents the majority because inherently policies of a right wing body -- a powerful body, no matter what the nation or what the era, never has the majority in mind." That was too much even for Brancaccio, who gently reminded her that "the Republicans won the last election." Garofalo countered: "Maybe. I have no idea. There's a, you know, and that's not tin foil hat time by the way. In other countries when we read about election fraud, we accept it unquestioningly. We accept it. Uzbekistan there's fraud? In Togo there's fraud? In, you know in Robert Mugabe rigged the elections? Whatever it is." Brancaccio helped her along: "In Zimbabwe, yeah." Garofalo elaborated on her fantasies about what took place in Ohio: "In Zimbabwe, we accept it. If somebody says I want you to examine the possibility of the Bush administration riggin' the elections as they did in 2000 with Katherine Harris and the voter roll scrubbing. And the recount was stopped. You know, the recount was stopped here too in Ohio. And there was complaint after complaint in district after district of voter anomalies, problems with the voting machines."
At the MRC's 2005 DisHonors Awards: Roasting the Most Outrageously Biased Reporters of 2004, Garofalo won "The I'm Not a Political Genius But I Play One on TV Award" for this exchange on MSNBC's Scarborough Country the night of Bush's second inauguration, January 20, 2005:
To watch a RealPLayer clip of that: www.mediaresearch.org
Brancaccio's first question to Garofalo: "So I just spent a total of about 12 hours on trains in the past day and a half, running around, and I was overhearing conversations, and virtually all of them seemed to be about Paula Abdul and was there or was there not nookie involving an American Idol contestant. I'm not hearing things like more crucial things to our democracy like maybe judicial nominations. What accounts for that?"
Garofalo: "No. Absolutely not. That is a myth. Now the -- right wing noise machine in the last 40 years has spent an enormous amount of money and time convincing the people that the truth is a liberal bias. They have -- on their continuing war on the English language, they have taken the word 'liberal' and turned it into a pejorative term." Brancaccio then set up Barr: "Now, a former Republican Congressman from that red state of Georgia, Bob Barr. Fellow conservative, William Safire calls him 'Mr Privacy.'"
Brancaccio's first question: "We could talk about the Georgia bride-to-be who bailed from her wedding. But this is Now. So we need to pick up on a thread from our previous conversation and talk about something more at the center of public policy, which is judicial nominations."
-- "The Attorney General of the United States was on Capitol Hill a couple of weeks ago. And he was testifying about an issue near and dear to your heart, which is The Patriot Act. And he said any attempt to dismantle the Patriot Act, some of the provisions with sunset would go away without Congressional action, any attempt to dismantle it would be tantamount to, I think his words were, 'unilateral disarmament,' in the war on terror. Do you worry that your efforts in this area is essentially handing one to the terrorists?" -- "Give me a taste of what would make you happy on The Patriot Act. What needs to go away in your view?" -- "Does it bug you that it's a Republican administration that's trying to push for the extension of The Patriot Act?" -- "What do you think, Bob? Is privacy an issue that's starting to gel with wide stretches of the American public?" -- "I don't mean to be a wiseacre here, but isn't the solution to some of this protecting our private data -- bigger government?" -- "As we speak, the House and Senate are moving toward a system which will demand that states check to be sure that you're in this country legally before giving you a driver's license. Now I know that you're pretty strict on issues like immigration. Do you support that?" -- "It's funny, you'd think Bob Barr would be just happier, the Republicans control the White House, the House of Representatives, the Senate. Now's the time. This is the moment for the conservative movement and you don't seem to be fully happy." -- "You are a serious libertarian. And libertarians believe that the government shouldn't intrude into the things people do in their private lives. Why shouldn't that extend to a gay or lesbian's couple's ability to get hitched if they wanna be joined until death do they part?" -- "Well you are a serious states' rights person. So if there is a state that would condone gay marriage, you're okay with that."
-- "Let me ask you about something else that's been in the news recently. You were the attack dog among them, during the Clinton/Monica Lewinsky affair. You're very tough when-" For Now's posting of the full transcript of the May 6 show: www.pbs.org
FNC's Hume Picks Up on MRC's Labeling Study and CyberAlert Item You read it here first. On Tuesday night, FNC's Brit Hume combined two MRC reports, a CyberAlert article about how the networks portrayed the source of "controversy" during President Bush's trip to Eastern Europe, and a Media Reality Check study on how in the last six months the networks have applied many more conservative than liberal labels, into one "Grapevine" item. Hume relayed on the May 10 Special Report with Brit Hume: "A word search of morning and evening network news shows by the conservative Media Research Center found that the words 'liberal' and 'conservative' have been used a total of 454 times to describe politicians or political groups in broadcasts since last November. The breakdown is as follows: 'conservative' used 395 times; 'liberal,' 59 times. As for coverage of the President's trip to Eastern Europe, the group noted that after President Bush criticized Soviet occupation of the Baltic States after World War II, ABC News anchor Charles Gibson called it a, quote, poke...in the eye' and a, quote, 'slap in the face' to Russia. ABC reporter Terry Moran said the Latvian President was the, quote, 'main instigator' of that controversy. And over on NBC, Katie Couric said President Bush was, quote, 'irritating his [Russian] host' by his planned visit to the former Soviet Republic of Georgia."
As Hume spoke, viewers saw graphics beside his head with the labeling numbers followed by a picture of Bush in front of a map of the Baltics and Russia, with revolving media quotes placed below Bush's face.
The May 10 CyberAlert recounted: Continuing ABC's theme from the weekend when Terry Moran framed Latvia's President as the "main instigator" of the "controversy" over whether the Soviet Union was the "liberator" or "occupier" after World War II of the Baltic nations, on Monday's Good Morning America, Charles Gibson treated President Bush as the one out of line for daring to contradict Vladimir Putin's version of history. Gibson complained about how "Mr. Bush has been getting the Russians a bit riled up, even provoked an official letter of protest from their Foreign Minister." Gibson demanded of White House Communications Director Dan Bartlett: "I'm curious why the President...would feel it necessary to poke them in the eye verbally and criticize them for the occupation of Eastern Europe and the Balkans?" Gibson contended: "Isn't it a slap in the face for the Russians on the eve of an occasion that's so important to them, the celebration of the end of World War II?" Katie Couric opened Monday's Today with a similar complaint about how "President Bush is irritating his host with a trip to the former Soviet Republic of Georgia." See: www.mediaresearch.org -- Brent Baker
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