You know that Fox News had to be worried about today’s Senate hearing with former Attorney General Sally Yates and James Clapper because instead of calling on its usual news anchors for breaking news, the network trotted out Trump-adorer Maria Bartiromo. She, in turn, pressed Republican Senator John Kennedy to work Trump's talking point into his questioning.
This morning, before the hearing, Donald Trump tried to deflect attention away from the damaging information Yates was likely to reveal, first by baselessly suggesting she’s a criminal:
Ask Sally Yates, under oath, if she knows how classified information got into the newspapers soon after she explained it to W.H. Counsel.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 8, 2017
And then by trying to blame President Obama for the fact that Trump made the lying, Russia-pal Flynn national security adviser, even after Obama warned Trump about Flynn.
General Flynn was given the highest security clearance by the Obama Administration - but the Fake News seldom likes talking about that.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 8, 2017
But when Bartiromo hosted Kennedy, who sits on the Judiciary Subcommittee holding the hearing, she showed no interest in Trump’s un-presidential, weaselly and yes, guilty-looking behavior.
Instead, Bartiromo seemed intent on promoting Trump’s attacking Yates. In that regard, she must have been heartened by Kennedy’s claim that he thought Trump’s “suggested question” was “very fair.”
But why Trump kept Flynn on the job for weeks after finding out he had lied about his contacts with Russia? Kennedy was “not really interested in re-litigating that.” Nor was Bartiromo interested in asking (even though everywhere you look in the White House, there are connections to Russia). “It just means they’re human,” Kennedy said.
Oh, how warmed Bartiromo’s heart must have felt!
Kennedy insisted, “We gotta get to the bottom” of Russia’s interference in the U.S. election. He hoped investigative agencies were “turning over every rock” and would “present the facts to the American people” and “let the chips fall where they may.”
But, gosh darn it, why haven’t they finished this complicated, highly-sensitive investigation already?
“Frankly, I’m ready to move on,” Kennedy said. “We’ve got other issues besides Russians’ involvement in the election because guess what? They’ve been trying to become involved in our elections all the way back to the Nixon/Humphrey race.”
Bartiromo was even more partisan than Kennedy. Like Trump, she apparently thought we wouldn’t notice because she pointed fingers at Democrats:
BARTIROMO: Yes. Exactly right. And that’s really why I’m questioning you about it. Because you say, you know, let’s get to the bottom of it. They’ve been working on this for a long time. This narrative started at the Democratic National Convention when Debbie Wasserman Schultz was pushed out and they wanted to talk about something else other than her emails. It’s still going on, we’re still hearing the same thing: we have no evidence of collusion.
Bartiromo surely knows that the FBI is investigating the matter and that “no evidence” at this time does not mean anything about what they may find as they continue. Her deceptive logic is like declaring a defendant has not been found guilty while a jury is still deliberating.
“I wish they’d hurry up,” Kennedy agreed.
Bartiromo did her part by quickly moving on. She pressed Kennedy to make sure he would ask Yates what Trump wanted asked.
BARTIROMO: Just to hit on something you said earlier and obviously, something that the president tweeted about. You will, then, ask Sally Yates on the record, how this information got into the public newspapers?
KENNEDY: You bet.
Oh, how glad Bartiromo must have been.
Watch Bartiromo’s blatant bias below, from Fox News’ coverage of the Judiciary Subcommittee hearing on May 8, 2017.
If Maria needs a break from the teensy-weensy topic of Russia throwing an American election since she agrees with Putin’s goals and results, perhaps she can talk about the Trump clan profiting off the office of the president. A fresh example provided by Kushner’s sister pitching her ties via her brother to Chinese real estate investors:
http://www.cbsnews.com/videos/jared-kushners-sister-highlights-family-ties-in-pitch-to-chinese-investors/
I found Sally Yates to be impressive, particularly on the (to me, irrelevant) matter of her having decided that the travel ban was unlawful and that it was therefore her duty (as promised to GOP members at her confirmation hearing) to “just say no”. The GOP are being smacked down by their own rhetoric. Priceless!