Category: Media

Not defending Hunter Biden, but Republicans are lying about him (of course)

Posted on by kos

Now that Joe Biden is headed toward the Democratic nomination for president, Republicans are reviving their efforts to smear him via his son, Hunter, and Hunter’s service on the board of Ukrainian energy company Burisma. Nothing untoward has ever been proved against Hunter, not even alleged (beyond generic) “corruption,” and the search for something untoward is all an effort to create this cycle’s version of “but her emails.” 

Key to the Republican argument is the notion that the younger Biden had no qualifications for the job. “When speaking with ABC News about his qualifications to be on Burisma's board, Hunter Biden didn't point to any of the usual qualifications of a board member," Donald Trump lawyer Pam Bondi said at his impeachment trial. "Hunter Biden had no experience in natural gas, no experience in the energy sector, no experience with Ukrainian regulatory affairs. As far as we know, he doesn't speak Ukrainian."

Trump being Trump, he’s whittled all that down to the claim that Hunter Biden was appointed to the board because he “didn’t have a job.” 

Since we’re going to be hearing about this nonstop for the next eight months (ugh), here’s the reality.

Hunter Biden is a graduate of Yale Law School, by far the best and most prestigious law school in the country (sorry, Harvard). Notes Trump fact-checker extraordinaire Daniel Dale, at the time that “Hunter Biden was appointed to the board of Burisma in 2014, he was a lawyer at the firm Boies Schiller Flexner, an adjunct professor at Georgetown University's foreign service program, chairman of the board of World Food Program USA, and chief executive officer and chairman of Rosemont Seneca Advisors, an investment advisory firm. He also served on other boards.”

Boies Schiller Flexner was founded by David Boies, the same Boies who defeated Microsoft in an antitrust case, who represented Al Gore in the 2000 election recount, and who successfully challenged California’s ban on gay marriage. (Also, the firm represents Harvey Weinstein, and Boies himself represented fraudulent firm Theranos, so … I’m not saying it’s all happy unicorns—I’m just reinforcing that it’s not some backwater ambulance-chasing firm. These are powerful heavy hitters.)

His teaching gig in Georgetown’s foreign service program, which is focused on international development, shows that Hunter did have expertise and an active interest in international relations and development. That makes sense, because World Food Program USA is focused on ending global hunger (and is currently raising money for relief efforts among Syrian refugees).

Rosemont Seneca was co-founded by Christopher Heinz, son of Teresa Heinz (of ketchup fame) and stepson of John Kerry. There’s little information about the firm online, but it looks like a garden-variety hedge fund. No one has alleged anything shady about it yet. But what it does show is that Biden had connections to the world of high finance that would be of interest to any conglomerate looking to raise capital and expand into new markets. 

And by all indications, Hunter was an active member of the board of Rosemont Seneca, investigating possible expansion opportunities and connecting the company to legal and financial resources in the United States. 

Was he on the board, likely, because of his last name? Probably. Was it a stupid idea to join such a board while his father was vice president? Of course. But no less stupid than pretty much everything the Trump children have done since their father entered the White House. Still, ugh. It sure would’ve been nice to head into the general election with a candidate unencumbered by such baggage. 

We now get to spend the rest of the year playing the “both sides are corrupt” game, muddying the waters on an issue (corruption) we should own easily. But pretending that Hunter had zero qualifications for the job, or worse, had no job? It’s utter horseshit, and we should be very clear to call it out as such. 

Republicans are going to believe whatever they want to believe. That’s the power of Fox News and Rush Limbaugh. If Trump says it’s okay to go to work even when infected with COVID-19? Okay then! Mission accomplished. All is well.

But we should fight and make sure the traditional media doesn’t repeat those claims as fact. Because, like pretty much everything else that comes out of Trump’s mouth, it’s utter horseshit. 

Sad! CNN Complains After Trump Blocks Them From Pre-SOTU Lunch

Posted on by Rusty Weiss

CNN is accusing President Trump of targeting the network by not inviting any of their reporters to an annual pre-State of the Union lunch.

Commentator Brian Stelter reports that three sources have confirmed the network is being excluded from the lunch.

“President Donald Trump’s targeting of CNN is moving to yet another arena: The annual presidential lunch with television network anchors,” Stelter complained.

The lunch gathering is considered off-the-record and journalists from most major news networks are typically invited to get a glimpse of the President’s mindset prior to the address to Congress.

RELATED: Former CNN Host Reza Aslan Asks If The World Would Be Better Off Without Rush Limbaugh

Here Come the Tears

Several mainstream media figures were outraged that the White House would dare not invite CNN to the proceedings.

The off-the-record proceedings. With reporters who are relentlessly anti-Trump.

Hard to imagine why the President wouldn’t want that circus surrounding him before a triumphant SOTU address as he nears acquittal in the Senate impeachment trial.

“Every news organization should stand by its peer CNN, stand up against Trump and stand for a free press and the first amendment by boycotting the impeached president’s lunch,” journalist Steven Beschloss demanded.

Likewise, CNN White House correspondent Kaitlan Collins asked of her peers, “Why would any other anchor go to this?”

Well, because they don’t work for a fake news outlet would be my number one guess.

RELATED: Trump Cancels Traditional White House Christmas Party For the Press

Why the Sad Face CNN?

Interesting that CNN would be outraged over exclusion from the State of the Union lunch. Especially considering the network themselves boycotted the White House Christmas party in 2018.

Lo and behold, it was Stelter who gleefully announced it on social media at the time.

“[White House] is hosting a Christmas party for media,” Stelter relayed. “Lots of curiosity about who will [and] will not attend. CNN staffers will not.”

So brave, so stunning.

“In light of the President’s continued attacks on freedom of the press and CNN, we do not feel it is appropriate to celebrate with him as his invited guests,” a spokesperson for the far-left network said at the time.

So they complain when they boycott Trump, and they complain when Trump boycott’s them. Which is it? If you didn’t like the attacks before, what changed your mind to the point where you’re begging for an invite?

Quite frankly, the President isn’t about to let up on his attacks against CNN any time soon. Why? Because they have no intention of operating as an organization with integrity any time soon. He’s not obligated to invite anybody, let alone a second-rate outfit.

Anyone recall CNN’s outrage when Barack Obama booted reporters from conservative newspapers off of his airplane? Did they stand in solidarity with their colleagues then?

Spare us the crocodile tears now.

The post Sad! CNN Complains After Trump Blocks Them From Pre-SOTU Lunch appeared first on The Political Insider.

Sen. Martha McSally defends insulting a reporter with rambling, self-satisfied op-ed

Posted on by Hunter

Republican Sen. Martha McSally will never be mistaken for a person of integrity. She is, however, the sort of Trumpian person who likes to invent insults and fundraise off them by selling overpriced T-shirts emblazoned with them. McSally responded to a CNN reporter's question about whether she would consider new evidence in the impeachment trial of Donald Trump by calling the reporter a "liberal hack," saying, "I'm not talking to you," and walking away. Within hours, McSally's website sported a new "You're a liberal hack" T-shirt as fundraising gimmick. Bask, America, in the glow of the world's greatest deliberative body and its assembled merchandise.

All of that looked boorish, unnecessary, and more than a little cowardly; McSally also faced calls to apologize to the reporter who had asked a perfectly legitimate question of a public official. So now McSally's got a long, rambling, extremely whining op-ed out, complaining that she, of course, is the real victim here.

Again, let's keep in mind that the chief justice of the United States recently called the Senate by its preferred porn name, World's Greatest Deliberative Body, as we try to glean any meaningful content from this piece other than self-satisfied grunting noises.

McSally writes, "Predictably, his entire industry melted down. How dare someone – a woman, perhaps? – ‘lash out’ at a reporter like that! In a hallway, no less! The pearl-clutching was more over-the-top than I could have ever imagined."

All right, that is about enough of that. There's also quite a bit of McSally reminding the world that she is a veteran, saying that, "as a combat veteran who survived situations where foggy communications could get people killed, I don't have time for the language games they expect you to play in Washington."

Right, because insulting reporters and refusing to answer the most fundamental questions about the single biggest issue and story in the country today is saving people from "getting killed." So brave. So, so very brave.

The rest of piece seems to be an entirely contentless stream-of-consciousness bashing of the "liberal media" and "DNC talking points," and by God I flew 325 combat hours so I should be able to insult all the reporters I want to because they are "liars" and this is, yes, pretty much what Donald Trump himself would write if he did not have bone spurs and if he allowed ANYONE AROUND HIM to edit his burping thoughts into complete sentences.

But the central message is unmistakable: The press is "liberal"; therefore the free press is an enemy, and attacks on it are therefore not only justified but required of all Good Republicans as we trundle toward the great Republican future in which no reporters will ask questions that our lawmakers do not like. And you can support this new Republican future by buying our favorite insults printed on T-shirts.

McConnell’s second impeachment cover-up is hiding how Republicans are blowing off their jobs

Posted on by Laura Clawson

As you watch the impeachment trial, with its unrelenting single camera angle, remember that this is Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s other cover-up. McConnell has most famously rigged the rules of the trial so that it’s extremely unlikely to include witnesses or new evidence. But he’s also responsible for the limited view of the Senate during the trial, and it’s not just an aesthetic issue.

Sign the petition: We need fair media access to the Senate impeachment trial.

C-SPAN, CNN, and other networks asked to have more cameras recording the historic event, but McConnell wasn’t having it—he kept the video feed limited to a government-controlled camera that shows basically nothing but the person speaking, with the occasional shot of the entire room. Combined with a prohibition on still cameras and sharp restrictions on press access to senators during the trial, this means that viewers can’t see senators’ reactions. Or senators napping. Or—and this is where it especially matters—when senators leave the room rather than honoring their duty as jurors.

As political historian Julian Zelizer told CNN, “The last thing Republicans want right now is for a camera to pan the chamber to show a bunch of the senators aren't there. That would be problematic and politically embarrassing.” But that's exactly what's happening, and what McConnell’s restrictions on cameras are keeping from public view.

We don't have a view of how many senators are playing hooky or reading books at any given time, and we don’t know what else we’re missing. ”With the Senate in control of what images are broadcast and disseminated, the public loses that right to independent access and are left reliant on what the government wishes them to see and hear,” said the general counsel of the National Press Photographers Association.

As Mitch McConnell wants it.