Every story is supposed to have two sides. But when it came to reporting the impeachment findings of the House Republicans on the Intelligence Committee vs. the Democrats’s report, the nation’s Spanish-speaking news networks tipped the balance in favor of the Democrats, by a margin of nearly 2 to 1.
Telemundo, Univision, CNN en Español and Estrella TV, accorded almost twice as much time to the Democrats’ report as they did to the House Republican report, during their main news programs on Monday, December 2nd and Tuesday, December 3rd, respectively.
Monday's coverage of the Republican report totaled 7 and a half minutes (from a total of two and a half hours between the four newscasts), emphasizing the liberal points of view. In addition, not one network led with the story. On Tuesday, however, all four Spanish-language networks led with the Democrat report, and spent close to 13 minutes driving the liberal perspective to their viewers.
Take a look at this compilation from three Spanish-language networks:
JORGE RAMOS, ANCHOR, UNIVISIÓN: In other news, today, the Democrat lawmakers' revealed their report which argues...
(....)
The Republicans have their own report in which they allege...
(....)
A damning report
JOSÉ DÍAZ-BALART, ANCHOR, TELEMUNDO: The evidence against Trump...
(....)
ADRIANA YAÑEZ, ANCHOR, ESTRELLA TV: House Democrats present evidence to hold an impeachment trial for President Trump...
ARMANDO GUZMÁN, CORRESPONDENT, ESTRELLA TV: In this one it says not only that Donald Trump did nothing wrong, but that the testimonies we heard were from bureaucrats resentful of Donald Trump...
SCHIFF: We already have overwhelming evidence of the President's...
GUZMÁN: And Trump can be charged in this report for obstruction of justice, obstruction of congress, for corruption and attempted corruption and blackmail to a foreign country...
Not only was the coverage time allotted to both reports favorable to the Democrat report, but even in those newscasts about the Republican version, the Hispanic media favored the former.
In order to further bolster the Schiff report, Univision anchor Jorge Ramos used the word “argue” to describe the Democrat proposition, but used “alleges” for the Republican report. This served to frame the Democrats’ report as factual, while framing the Republican report as a mere allegation.
Telemundo’s José Díaz-Balart went all-out, saying that there was evidence against Trump. Meanwhile, Estrella TV correspondent Armando Guzman, with his usual flair, inserted a heavy dose of cynicism to his “analysis,” even going so far as to inject Trump’s tax return battle with New York State into his subjective report regarding Trump’s “possible impeachment trial.”
The transcripts of the above mentioned reports are below, click "expand" to read:
Noticiero Univision
December 2, 2019JORGE RAMOS, ANCHOR, UNIVISIÓN: In other news, today, the Democrat lawmakers' revealed their report which argues that President Trump deserves an impeachment trial for his misconduct in the so-called Ukraine scandal. The Republicans have their own report in which they allege that President Trump was cautious in setting conditions to meet with the Ukrainian president and withhold them military aid.
Noticiero Univision
December 3, 2019JORGE RAMOS, ANCHOR, UNIVISIÓN: A damning report. The House of Representatives presented an extensive report accusing President Trump of placing his personal political interests above the nation's interests.
Noticias Telemundo
December 3, 2019JOSÉ DÍAZ-BALART, ANCHOR, TELEMUNDO: The evidence against Trump. Democratic congressmen who investigated the president say there is overwhelming evidence that he compromised national security to advance his interests. It's another important step in the impeachment of the president. Good afternoon, the White House denies that the evidence is overwhelming. And the president calls the head of the committee unhinged and a liar.
Noticiero Estrella TV
December 3, 2019ADRIANA YAÑEZ, ANCHOR, ESTRELLA TV: House Democrats present evidence to hold an impeachment trial for President Trump. From Washington, D.C., Armando Guzmán has all the details.
ARMANDO GUZMÁN, CORRESPONDENT, ESTRELLA TV: If Democrats could celebrate in public they would be doing it out here, because they already have legal basis to request Donald Trump's taxes and not just the president, but his associates as well. It implicates that the majority of judges ruled in favor of the House of Representatives who for three years have litigated for Donald Trump's tax returns. The order also includes third parties from individuals, such as Deutsche Bank, who claim to have only the statements of the children, but not those of the president, and the Capital One bank in the United States who would also be required to hand over all documentation that it has in its possession, and that has to do not only with Donald Trump's business, but also with all his tax returns.
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: I'm under audit. When you're under audit, you don't do it, but I'm under audit.
GUZMÁN: But New York state prosecutors wrote exactly a month ago a similar decision. Cy Vance, Manhattan attorney general, got the same second circuit in this lawsuit you see here, to order the accounting firm working for Trump to hand over those tax returns. It was when Trump, who you see here the day he announced his candidacy at the Trump Tower, suddenly changed his lifelong residence in New York State for the state of Florida. Trump also appealed to the supreme cour; to all of that, add that the House Intelligence Committee is forwarding a two-month summary of investigations to the Legal Committee, for a possible trial for Donald Trump.
ADAM SCHIFF: We already have overwhelming evidence of the President's misconduct.
GUZMÁN: Today was not a good day for Donald Trump. In addition to this decision against him by the appeals court, the Intelligence Committee sent the report to the Legal Committee about all the time they have investigated Trump. His lawyer, Rudolph Giuliani, is mentioned there on more than 500 occasions and Trump could be charged in this report for obstruction of justice, obstruction of congress, corruption and attempted corruption and blackmail to a foreign country. In Washington, Armando Guzmán, Toiciero Estrella TV.
Noticiero Estrella TV
December 2, 2019ADRIANA YAÑEZ, ANCHOR, ESTRELLA TV: And a new chapter on the investigation of an impeachment begins this week in the House of Representatives. Meanwhile, Donald Trump announced that he will not attend any Democratic-led hearings. Armando Guzmán brings us all the details.
ARMANDO GUZMÁN, CORRESPONDENT, ESTRELLA TV: On behalf of the presidency, the Chief White House attorney, Pat Cipollone, informed the House of Representatives Legal Committee, that he will not participate at next Wednesday's hearing, because this process, insisted Cipollone, exacerbates or aggravates the complete lack of due process and the fundamental legal flaws of what Democrats call an investigation into the acts for which they accuse the President.
CONGRESSMAN DOUG COLLINS (R-GA): This is a complete American waste of time right here.
GUZMÁN: The Republicans in the Legal Committee are fuming.
COLLINS: They want to get at the president right now before everybody completely sees through the process sham of the elections for next year.
GUZMÁN: Members of the Intelligence Committee will have only a few hours today to review the report summarizing weeks of testimony from all these people who interpreted a Trump conversation with the president of Ukraine as an attempt to blackmail. But for Donald Trump, who left for London this morning for the Atlantic Alliance (NATO) meeting, that Democratic haste also represents a lack of care to lead a legal process that Trump continues to call a bipartisan, illegitimate witch hunt.
TRUMP: If you noticed the Breaking News today, the Ukrainian president came out and said very strongly that President Trump did absolutely nothing wrong. That should be case over.
GUZMÁN: Now, the House Legal Committee will take a dozen testimonies in the intelligence committee and in new hearings will hear legal and constitutionalist experts decide if there are grounds for bringing criminal charges against Trump, which continue to be, withholding military aid in exchange for Ukraine investigating into the alleged connections with John Biden and his son Hunter. Every day of this week, something important. And now this: 123 pages of the Republican Intelligence Committee that will go against the Democrats' report tomorrow. In this one it says not only that Donald Trump did nothing wrong, but that the testimonies we heard were from bureaucrats resentful of Donald Trump. In Washington, Armando Guzmán, Noticiero Estrella TV.
