Remember that seven-hour gap in the White House call logs from January 6, 2021 — the one that turned out to be a complete nothing burger? It’s worth noting how much time and energy journalists wasted speculating about these call logs, because it's yet another example of the media’s willingness to push any story, no matter how dubious, so long as it aligns with their liberal political goals.
For nearly a full week MSNBC’s Chris Hayes dedicated the first block of his nightly 8 pm show to the call logs, in which he and his guests pontificated about burner phones and cover-ups. Of course, Hayes was far from alone. From CNBC’s Shep Smith, to CBS’s Norah O’Donnell, to CNN’s John Avlon, TV news was positively giddy about the latest apparent Trump scandal:
The story fizzled last Thursday when CNN’s Jamie Gangel reported that the call logs were actually complete according to an official review: “The fact the log does not show calls on January 6, 2021, from the Oval Office is not unusual, said the sources, because Trump typically had staff either place calls directly for him on landlines or cell phones. Those calls would not be noted on the switchboard log.”
If the media were capable of embarrassment, they’d be experiencing quite a bit of it right now. Instead, we’ve seen some journalists drop the story all together, while others continue to grasp at straws. On last Friday’s edition of All In, Hayes begrudgingly acknowledged CNN’s reporting, but went on to insist: “That gap remains.”
But considering Hayes hasn’t mentioned “that gap” since then, it’s safe to assume he’s moved on.
