On Monday night, English-language networks ABC and CBS joined Spanish-language networks MundoFox, Telemundo, and Univision in ignoring the news that former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has finally agreed to testify before the House Select Committee on Benghazi regarding the 2012 terror attack in Libya and her usage of a private e-mail account while at the State Department.
In contrast, Monday’s NBC Nightly News reported on it with the following sentence as part of a news brief about Clinton’s current standing with the American people in the latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll: “This comes as Clinton's lawyers say she's agreed to one day, not two, of testimony before Congress later this month about Benghazi and her private e-mail server.”
Also covering this development on Benghazi and the Clinton scandals was the Fox News Channel’s Special Report with this 21-second news brief from host Bret Baier:
Hillary Clinton is willing to take questions from the House Select Committee on Benghazi as soon as two weeks from today. So says the presidential candidate's lawyer, but Clinton is offering to speak only once, not twice, as Chairman Trey Gowdy has requested. It's not been decided if the hearing will before the public or behind closed doors.
As mentioned above, NBC also used the occasion to highlight some results from the latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll on the 2016 presidential campaign.
Holt first touted how despite all the “controversies swirling over the Clinton Foundation’s funding, Hillary Clinton still leads the top Republican candidates for 2016” with margins ranging from a ten-point lead over possible GOP candidate and Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker to a four-point lead over declared GOP candidate and Kentucky Senator Rand Paul.
Following the favorable statistics for Clinton, however, the poll pointed out how less and less Americans find her trustworthy. On the question of whether respondents found the former First Lady to be “honest and straightforward,” only 25 percent agreed with that statement and represents a drop from 38 percent in 2014.
The transcript of the brief that aired on May 4's NBC Nightly News can be found below.
NBC Nightly News
May 4, 2015
7:08 p.m. Eastern
LESTER HOLT: Even with controversies swirling over the funding. Hillary Clinton still leads the top Republican candidates for 2016 in a new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll. The bad news for Clinton? Fewer people believe she's honest and straightforward. That number dropping from 38 percent just last year to 25 percent now. This comes as Clinton's lawyers say she's agreed to one day, not two, of testimony before Congress later this month about Benghazi and her private e-mail server.
The transcript of the news brief from FNC’s Special Report with Bret Baier on May 4 can be found below.
FNC’s Special Report with Bret Baier
May 4, 2015
6:20 p.m. Eastern
[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE CAPTION: Clinton Agrees to Testify One Time]
BRET BAIER: Hillary Clinton is willing to take questions from the House Select Committee on Benghazi as soon as two weeks from today. So says the presidential candidate's lawyer, but Clinton is offering to speak only once, not twice, as Chairman Trey Gowdy has requested. It's not been decided if the hearing will before the public or behind closed doors.
