ABC’s World News Tonight broke the network’s blackout on Tuesday night pertaining to the question from Monday’s CNN Iowa Democratic Town Hall about Clinton’s dishonesty, but it neglected to highlight Clinton recanting her numerous apologies from 2015 pertaining to her e-mail scandal with one of them coming on that very newscast in a September 8 interview by anchor David Muir.
Naturally, the Fox News Channel’s Special Report with Bret Baier aired the contrasting clips during chief White House correspondent Ed Henry’s dispatch from Iowa on the Democratic race.
Henry prefaced the contradiction by mentioning that President Obama’s recent fawning words for Clinton may not be enough “as the FBI is investigating Clinton’s e-mail practices.” He then played an exchange Clinton had with moderator and CNN’s New Day co-host Chris Cuomo:
CNN’s CHRIS CUOMO [TO SANDERS] [on CNN’s Iowa Democratic Presidential Town Hall, 01/25/16]: You’re willing to say it was an error in judgment and you should have apologized?
HILLARY CLINTON [on CNN’s Iowa Democratic Presidential Town Hall, 01/25/16]: No. I'm not willing to say it was an error in judgment because nothing did I was wrong. It was not — it was not in any way prohibited.
Of course, this stands in contrast to what Clinton told ABC’s Muir in September which Henry explained as Clinton seeming to be “back pedaling since she already did apologize.”
While Henry played only a select portion of it, here’s the full quote that Clinton told Muir the September 8 edition of ABC’s World News Tonight that the January 26, 2016 version saw no reason to mention (which this writer wrote about at the time):
I really didn't, perhaps appreciate the need to do that. What I had done was allowed. It was above board, but in retrospect, certainly, as I look back at it now, even though it was allowed, I should have used two accounts, one for personal, one for work-related e-mails. That was a mistake. I'm sorry about that. I take responsibility[.]
Instead, ABC’s evening newscast choose to have Clinton correspondent Cecilia Vega touting the former secretary of state as “energized” providing a “pre-caucus promise” to voters she would “work my heart out for you as your president” if she’s elected in November.
Vega added at the end of her segment that Clinton will be “bring[ing] in the reforcements” in “Bill and Chelsea” for the final weekend of campaigning before the Iowa Caucus on February 1.
The relevant portion of the transcript from FNC’s Special Report with Bret Baier on January 26 can be found below.
FNC’s Special Report with Bret Baier
January 26, 2016
6:17 p.m. EasternED HENRY: And the President’s kind words come as the FIB is investigating Clinton’s e-mail practices.
CNN’s CHRIS CUOMO [TO SANDERS] [on CNN’s Iowa Democratic Presidential Town Hall, 01/25/16]: You’re willing to say it was an error in judgment and you should have apologized?
HILLARY CLINTON [on CNN’s Iowa Democratic Presidential Town Hall, 01/25/16]: No. I'm not willing to say it was an error in judgment because nothing did I was wrong. It was not — it was not in any way prohibited.
HENRY: It seems like Clinton is back pedaling since she already did apologize.
CLINTON [on ABC’s World News Tonight with David Muir, 09/08/15]: I should have used two accounts. One for personal, one for work-related e-mails. That was a mistake and I'm sorry about that.
