On her MSNBC show on Monday, anchor Andrea Mitchell brought two different Democratic lawmakers to brush aside serious questions about Hillary Clinton and the DNC funding the infamous Russian dossier against Donald Trump. The host even teed up a soundbite of Clinton herself mocking journalists who actually covered the story.
First Mitchell brought on Democratic California Congressman Eric Swalwell and wondered: “What about the recent steps taken by Chairman [Devin] Nunes, by other [Republican] leaders, by Trey Gowdy, to go after Hillary Clinton on the very day that we felt that they were getting closer – that Mueller’s getting closer to indictments?”
Predictably, the liberal politician followed her lead in deriding the dossier revelation, even warning: “Well, it helps the Russians, because the Russians like to see further discord in our country....and we’re going back in time and reopening, you know, cases around e-mails or, you know, uranium deals, that disunity allows them to attack us again.” Mitchell didn’t bother to challenge his laughable notion that holding Clinton accountable somehow “helps the Russians.”
Later in the hour, while introducing Democratic Massachusetts Senator Ed Markey, Mitchell sneered:
As the first criminal charges are revealed in the special counsel’s Russia investigation, President Trump and Republicans are going to battle with Democrats on two fronts, demanding new scrutiny of Hillary Clinton’s alleged role as Secretary of State in a 2010 uranium deal and the Clinton campaign and DNC’s funding of that controversial dossier on Donald Trump. Is this all misdirection by the President and his advisors?
Moments later, she set up a clip of Clinton attacking Fox News for properly examining the scandals: “The President and his allies, as well as one news organization, have been focusing almost entirely on Hillary Clinton....She has said that she had nothing do with it. This was Clinton at the Human Rights Campaign gala on Saturday night.”
A soundbite followed of Clinton telling the left-wing group: “It does strike me that in the last few days at least Fox News seems to think that’s where I live, in the White House. Because they spend a disproportionate amount of their time talking about impeaching me.”
Mitchell continued: “So she went on to talk about the fact that she is being criticized when she actually lost the election.” Turning to Markey, she asked: “At this stage, do you think that there is a legitimate issue about what the Democrats did, as well as what the Republicans arguably did, during the campaign?”
Markey promptly disregarded the legitimate question:
Look, what Donald Trump is doing is he’s just throwing out all of these red herrings about Hillary Clinton. As a matter of fact, there are so many red herrings the President has been pointing out over the last two or three days that we probably will have to have an aquarium to put all of these red herrings in....And the President is just throwing out Hillary Clinton as red meat to his base in order to give himself some kind of core support.
Mitchell did eventually talk to a non-Democrat about the Clinton/Russia allegations, radio host and MSNBC’s token “conservative” Charlie Sykes: “Charlie, the political fallout from this, the President pushing back, saying that it really should be Hillary Clinton we’re looking at...” However, Sykes sounded just like her and the Democrats on the issue:
...it felt like there was a coordinated campaign over the last week to discredit this investigation, to shift the focus from the Trump investigation to Hillary Clinton. I mean, this was like a bonfire of what about-ism, trying to change the subject. And now you have real laws, real indictments, real guilty pleas. So this comes at a crucial moment.
The biased coverage throughout the show was brought to viewers by Ally credit, GoDaddy.com, and Golden Corral.
Here are excerpts of the October 30 exchanges:
12:24 PM ET
(...)
ANDREA MITCHELL: What about the recent steps taken by Chairman Nunez, by other Democratic [sic] leaders, by Trey Gowdy, to go after Hillary Clinton on the very day that we felt that they were getting closer – that Mueller’s getting closer to indictments?
REP. ERIC SWALWELL [D-CA]: Well, it helps the Russians, because the Russians like to see further discord in our country. And if we’re not doing all we can to make sure that we’re not gonna prevent a future attack and we’re going back in time and reopening, you know, cases around e-mails or, you know, uranium deals, that disunity allows them to attack us again.
(...)
MITCHELL: What is your reaction to the Republican leadership on the committee wanting to investigate the uranium connection?
SWALWELL: Well, it doesn’t have to be this way. And Paul Ryan is green-lighting all of this. You know, he has allowed Devin Nunes to recuse himself but still issue what I think are non-relevant subpoenas. He’s allowed these new investigations open. You know, I think, for Democrats, as part of our case, you know, as to why we want to be in the majority in 2018, that, you know, we will response – we will govern responsibly and focus on what, you know, Americans care about when it comes to, you know, the freedom to choose in our democracy.
MITCHELL: Do you think that the uranium issue should be investigated?
SWALWELL: If there are issues that haven’t, you know, been explored by the Intelligence Committee, sure. But not at the expense of, I think, this investigation. I think what’s happening here is the disruptive way to put this ahead of our investigation because of, at best, an incuriosity [sic] about what the Russians did, and at worst, a way to work and advance the White House’s narrative.
(...)
12:40 PM ET
MITCHELL: As the first criminal charges are revealed in the special counsel’s Russia investigation, President Trump and Republicans are going to battle with Democrats on two fronts, demanding new scrutiny of Hillary Clinton’s alleged role as Secretary of State in a 2010 uranium deal and the Clinton campaign and DNC’s funding of that controversial dossier on Donald Trump. Is this all misdirection by the President and his advisors? Joining me now is Democratic Senator Ed Markey, member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
(...)
MITCHELL: The President and his allies, as well as one news organization, have been focusing almost entirely on Hillary Clinton, the fact that the Clinton campaign did hire the firm that ended up producing the dossier through Christopher Steele, the former intelligence official, the intelligence agent from the British intelligence service. And also, the fact that there was this uranium deal while she was secretary of state. She has said that she had nothing do with it. This was Clinton at the Human Rights Campaign gala on Saturday night.
HILLARY CLINTON: It does strike me that in the last few days at least Fox News seems to think that’s where I live, in the White House. Because they spend a disproportionate amount of their time talking about impeaching me.
MITCHELL: So she went on to talk about the fact that she is being criticized when she actually lost the election. At this stage, do you think that there is a legitimate issue about what the Democrats did, as well as what the Republicans arguably did, during the campaign?
SEN ED MARKEY [D-MA]: Look, what Donald Trump is doing is he’s just throwing out all of these red herrings about Hillary Clinton. As a matter of fact, there are so many red herrings the President has been pointing out over the last two or three days that we probably will have to have an aquarium to put all of these red herrings in. But it’s all clearly intended to get away from the central point that there has been a guilty plea and two other indictments which have been brought down here today. And the President is just throwing out Hillary Clinton as red meat to his base in order to give himself some kind of core support. But ultimately this whole issue is just going to continue to return to the Trump campaign and the Trump White House. What did they know and when did they know it about Russian interference in our elections?
(...)
12:51 PM ET
MITCHELL: Charlie, the political fallout from this, the President pushing back, saying that it really should be Hillary Clinton we’re looking at, we’ll have more to say about that in a moment.
(...)
CHARLIE SYKES: You know, and this also comes at a rather dramatic moment because it felt like there was a coordinated campaign over the last week to discredit this investigation, to shift the focus from the Trump investigation to Hillary Clinton. I mean, this was like a bonfire of what about-ism, trying to change the subject. And now you have real laws, real indictments, real guilty pleas. So this comes at a crucial moment.
MITCHELL: And, of course, that was replicating – what you just referenced – was replicating the way the President, when he was a candidate, handled it all.
(...)
