On Wednesday ahead of the impending impeachment trial of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas for his role in the Biden border crisis, ABC’s Good Morning America continued its wildly partisan dismissal of this entire episode while CBS Mornings lobbed softballs at him a network exclusive originally billed as a chance for him to sound competent on the issue of online child exploitation.
As they’ve been since the start of the impeachment push, ABC’s Good Morning America has led the way with snarky dismissals and partisan pontificating. Co-host and former Clinton tool George Stephanopoulos has been the ringleader.
Wednesday was no except as he didn’t even ask a question of chief congressional correspondent Rachel Scott, but instead belly-ached about how “the partisan House impeachment of Homeland Secretary Mayorkas is heading now to the Senate, but it’s all for show now.”
ABC’s George Stephanopoulos: “[T]he partisan House impeachment of Homeland Secretary Mayorkas is heading now to the Senate, but it’s all for show now.”@RachelVScott: “Yeah and this really could be over very quickly. Look, Republicans want a full trial. They impeached Secretary… pic.twitter.com/NMLgLBjPQb
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) April 17, 2024
Also a liberal hack, Scott scoffed “this really could be over very quickly” even though “Republicans want a full trial” for Mayorkas’s “handling of the border, but it is Democrats who control the Senate.”
Showing her political allegiance, Scott stated as though it were a fact that Democrats “point out there is no evidence of high crimes and misdemeanors, that this is all over a policy dispute and they will be looking to dismiss these charges very quickly.”
Prior to the Mayorkas interview, CBS Mornings also had a partial and dry segment about the Mayorkas impeachment trial with co-host and Democratic donor Gayle King and congressional correspondent Nikole Killion (click “expand”):
KING: Nikole, before you go, listen, I know it’s a busy day there because we’ve got the impeachment trial of Homeland Security secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, begins in the Senate which, by the way, the secretary of state [sic] has just arrived. We’re talking about another topic, but we’ll certainly get to that. So, what can we expect on that front?
KILLION: Well, senators will be sworn in this afternoon for a trial. Tuesday, House impeachment managers walk the articles across the Capitol to the Senate. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas was impeached by the House back in February. He is charged with refusal to comply with the law and breach of public trust for his handling of the U.S.-Mexico border. Senate Democrats want to dismiss this trial quickly, while most Republicans argue that it should be allowed to proceed. A DHS spokesperson has called the proceedings baseless.
Mayorkas surfaced for the start of the second half-hour and, after nearly seven minutes letting him conveniently seem wholly concerned about U.S. national security in a joint interview with a Meta executive on online child exploitation.
The remaining nearly three minutes (2:53) was split between his impeachment and the war in the Middle East (with Mayorkas offering a boilerplate answer giving equal weight to anti-Semitism and Islamophobia).
Co-host Tony Dokoupil didn’t focus on debating the merits of the impeachment and instead asked him “what’s on the table, what’s being discussed” “to stop the flow of people over the border” (click “expand”):
DOKOUPIL: Mr. Secretary, you’re here with us, but meanwhile in Washington there’s an effort to impeach you and it comes at the very same time that people are waiting on the Biden administration to issue some sort of an executive order to stop the flow of people over the border, maybe by changing the asylum laws. That’s the reporting anyway. What — what’s on the table, what’s being discussed, is that still even a possibility?
MAYORKAS: So, a couple — a couple thoughts. First of all, as they work on impeachment, I work in advancing the missions of the Department of Homeland Security. That’s what I’ve done throughout this process. We need Congress to pass the bipartisan legislation that a group of senators worked on. That is the enduring solution. We cannot resource ourselves, we need Congress to do so. We cannot change a broken immigration system, only Congress can do that.
KING: But — but how do you explain —
DOKOUPIL: But there is no executive order, so you’re pulling it off the table?
MAYORKAS: Oh, no. Not at all. You know, we — we — we explore options every single day. That’s the responsibility of good government. We are considering options. We have been throughout, but really, the enduring solution is legislation because executive actions invariably are challenged in the courts.
Like the loyal liberal apparatchik she is, King praised Mayorkas for “continu[ing] to do your job” despite the impeachment charges in what must “feel surreal” and “like you have on gasoline underwear” with “a lot of incoming” from Republicans he’s simultaneously “negotiating with” as they try to remove him.
“How do you balance that two, knowing that — how they feel about you and that they want you out,” King wondered, to which Mayorkas twice said it’s “precisely why I focus on the work.”
Gag.
NBC’s Today was actually the least objectionable of the three (aside from the fact it was only a 32-second partial segment) as Capitol Hill correspondent Ryan Nobles gave a sentence to each camp (click “expand”):
GUTHRIE: Let’s talk about another item. The House impeached Homeland Security Secretary Mayorkas. The articles of impeachment — which are basically the charges — now go to the Senate for a trial, but what is expected to happen there?
NOBLES: Yeah, that’s right. The Senate today is expected to swear in senators as jurors, but it is expected to be an incredibly short trial against Mayorkas. Republicans say that he ignored the law and created chaos at the border, but Democrats argue that this is nothing more than a political stunt. They’re planning to dismiss or table the trial as soon as this week.
To see the relevant transcript from April 17, click “expand.”
ABC’s Good Morning America
April 17, 2024
7:11 a.m. EasternGEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: And, Rachel, the partisan House impeachment of Homeland Secretary Mayorkas is heading now to the Senate, but it’s all for show now.
[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: New This Morning; House Sends Mayorkas Impeachment Articles to Senate; Republican Senators Demanding Full-Scale Trial for DHS Secretary]
RACHEL SCOTT: Yeah and this really could be over very quickly. Look, Republicans want a full trial. They impeached Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas over his handling of the border, but it is Democrats who control the Senate. And they point out there is no evidence of high crimes and misdemeanors, that this is all over a policy dispute and they will be looking to dismiss these charges very quickly, George.
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CBS Mornings
April 17, 2024
7:08 a.m. Eastern[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Mayorkas Impeachment Trial; Homeland Security Sec’y Expected to Survive Senate Trial]
GAYLE KING: Nikole, before you go, listen, I know it’s a busy day there because we’ve got the impeachment trial of Homeland Security secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, begins in the Senate which, by the way, the secretary of state [sic] has just arrived. We’re talking about another topic, but we’ll certainly get to that. So, what can we expect on that front?
NIKOLE KILLION: Well, senators will be sworn in this afternoon for a trial. Tuesday, House impeachment managers walk the articles across the Capitol to the Senate. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas was impeached by the House back in February. He is charged with refusal to comply with the law and breach of public trust for his handling of the U.S.-Mexico border. Senate Democrats want to dismiss this trial quickly, while most Republicans argue that it should be allowed to proceed. A DHS spokesperson has called the proceedings baseless. Gayle?
KING: All right. We’ll see how that plays out. Nikole, thank you very much. In our next half hour, homeland Security Secretary Mayorkas will be here in the studio to discuss his impeachment trial and the reason why he’s here — we booked him a while ago to talk about this — a big, new campaign to keep your kids safe online.
(....)
7:31 a.m. Eastern
KING: We’re — we’re very glad to have you here. Nice to meet you, Antigone.
HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY ALEJANDRO MAYORKAS: Thank you.
KING: Especially for you, Secretary Mayorkas because, listen, you’re in the news, your ears must be burning because, even as we speak, they’re trying to impeach you on Capitol Hill. We’ll get to that in just a second.
(....)
7:36 a.m. Eastern
[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Mayorkas Impeachment Trial; DHS Sec’y on Impeachment Charges Brought by Republicans]
TONY DOKOUPIL: Mr. Secretary, you’re here with us, but meanwhile in Washington there’s an effort to impeach you and it comes at the very same time that people are waiting on the Biden administration to issue some sort of an executive order to stop the flow of people over the border, maybe by changing the asylum laws. That’s the reporting anyway. What — what’s on the table, what’s being discussed, is that still even a possibility?
MAYORKAS: So, a couple — a couple thoughts. First of all, as they work on impeachment, I work in advancing the missions of the Department of Homeland Security. That’s what I’ve done throughout this process. We need Congress to pass the bipartisan legislation that a group of senators worked on. That is the enduring solution. We cannot resource ourselves, we need Congress to do so. We cannot change a broken immigration system, only Congress can do that.
KING: But — but how do you explain —
DOKOUPIL: But there is no executive order, so you’re pulling it off the table?
MAYORKAS: Oh, no. Not at all. You know, we — we — we explore options every single day. That’s the responsibility of good government. We are considering options. We have been throughout, but really, the enduring solution is legislation because executive actions invariably are challenged in the courts.
KING: Yeah. You were making it clear, Mr. Secretary, you’re going to continue to do your job. But, I’m wondering personally, does this feel surreal? Do you feel like you have on gasoline underwear? Cause you a lot of incoming — you must feel — or do you feel like you’re sitting on the hot seat? Cause, on one hand, you’re negotiating with Republicans. And then, on the other hand, they’re trying to impeach you. How do you balance that two, knowing that — how they feel about you and that they want you out?
MAYORKAS: Gayle, that is precisely why I focus on the work.
KING: Mmmmm.
DOKOUPIL: Should we —
MAYORKAS: That is precisely why I focus on the work.
DOKOUPIL: — speaking of the broader mission separate from the border, we’ve got Israel and Iran now in a confrontation. I think a lot of people reasonably wonder whether what’s happening overseas may become a threat to the homeland.
KING: Yeah, yes.
DOKOUPIL: Is there an increased risk in America of some sort of attack tied to sympathies in the Middle East?
KING: Yes.
MAYORKAS: We have seen an increase in anti-Semitism. We have seen an increase in Islamaphobia following the October 7 terrorist attacks. There is no question, as Director Wray of the FBI and I have expressed publicly, we are in a heightened threat environment and what we worry about is an increase in what we call domestic violent extremism — the radicalization of individuals already here, driven to violence based on an ideology of hate.
DOKOUPIL: Credible threats right now as we speak?
MAYORKAS: We — I have no known credible threats at this time, but we are in a heightened threat environment.
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NBC’s Today
April 17, 2024
7:14 a.m. Eastern[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Mayorkas Impeachment Heads to Senate]
SAVANNAH GUTHRIE: Let’s talk about another item. The House impeached Homeland Security Secretary Mayorkas. The articles of impeachment — which are basically the charges — now go to the Senate for a trial, but what is expected to happen there?
RYAN NOBLES: Yeah, that’s right. The Senate today is expected to swear in senators as jurors, but it is expected to be an incredibly short trial against Mayorkas. Republicans say that he ignored the law and created chaos at the border, but Democrats argue that this is nothing more than a political stunt. They’re planning to dismiss or table the trial as soon as this week.
