As the Media Research Center has documented since FBI Director James Comey’s firing on Tuesday, the liberal media have been in a rage and desperately trying to tie the firing to Russia. The media’s hyperventilation didn’t escape the eye of The Federalist’s Senior Editor Mollie Hemingway, who denounced them as “delusional” during Thursday’s Special Report on Fox News. “You know, even though I am a long-time media observer, I am kind of gobsmacked at the media coverage of this firing,” she told the rest of the panel.
Hemingway, who has won the MRC’s Noel Sheppard Award, agreed that Comey’s firing was a big story, “But much of the media coverage has turned this into something almost delusional.”
“A belief that Comey, who everyone agreed until a few minutes ago was really bad at his job and had not done a good job managing the FBI, was fired as some part of a global Russian conspiracy,” she said. “And so, I was appreciative of the acting director's testimony today where he kind of debunked many of these mainstream media talking points that were out there.”
She thanked acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe for debunking many of the media’s more outlandish assertions. In response, Anchor Bret Baier play a series of clips of McCabe doing just that:
SENATOR MARK WERNER: Do you commit to informing this committee of any effort to interfere with the FBI's ongoing investigation into links between Russia and the Trump campaign?
ANDREW MCCABE: I absolutely do. There has been no effort to impede our investigation to date.
SENATOR SUSAN COLLINS: Press reports yesterday he indicated that Director Comey requested additional resources.
MCCABE: I cannot confirm that request was made. I believe we have the adequate resources to do it, and I know that we have resourced that investigation adequately.
Hemingway also called out how “certain papers” rushed to publish front page stories claiming Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein threatened to resign because of how the White House portrayed his role. “And that was sourced to anonymous sources. He on the record denied that ” she noted. “So, pretty much every major story that was pushed out to produce this narrative, again, of a Russian conspiracy was debunked within hours.”
She also dismissed conversations about how popular Comey was at the agency as “subjective” and “silly” because logically, “The FBI is a large agency. You’re going to have people who loved and adored everything Comey did and you're going to have people who disagreed with what he did.”
There were two pieces of advice Hemingway offered to the media. First, “I think the media need to take a breath, think through how they’re presenting this story. It's a big story. But the manner in which they are covering this is borderline delusional.” And second, “I think though, what really needs to happen is that people just need to accept the reality that Donald Trump is president.”
Transcript below:
FNC
Special Report
May 11, 2017
6:36:30 PM EasternMOLLIE HEMINGWAY: You know, even though I am a long-time media observer, I am kind of gob smacked at the media coverage of this firing. It's definitely a big story, the firing of an FBI director. But much of the media coverage has turned this into something almost delusional. A belief that Comey, who everyone agreed until a few minutes ago was really bad at his job and had not done a good job managing the FBI, was fired as some part of a global Russian conspiracy. And so, I was appreciative of the acting director's testimony today where he kind of debunked many of these mainstream media talking points that were out there.
BRET BAIER: Well, let’s play that. This is the acting Director of the FBI, McCabe.
[Cuts to video]
MARK WERNER: Do you commit to informing this committee of any effort to interfere with the FBI's ongoing investigation into links between Russia and the Trump campaign?
ANDREW MCCABE: I absolutely do. There has been no effort to impede our investigation to date.
SUSAN COLLINS: Press reports yesterday he indicated that Director Comey requested additional resources.
MCCABE: I cannot confirm that request was made. I believe we have the adequate resources to do it, and I know that we have resourced that investigation adequately. We considered a highly significant investigation. It is my opinion and belief that the FBI will continue to pursue this investigation vigorously and completely.
…
BAIER: There you have it.
HEMINGWAY: Yes. And not just what he said in that testimony, but also there was another story that was put on the front page of certain papers saying that the deputy AG had threatened to quit. And that was sources to anonymous sources. He on the record, denied that. So, pretty much every major story that was pushed out to produce this narrative, again, of a Russian conspiracy was debunked within hours. But I think the media need to take a breath, think through how they’re presenting this story. It's a big story. But the manner in which they are covering this is borderline delusional.
BAIER: And there clearly have been stories that have been pushed back and have been wrong.
…
HEMINGWAY: The FBI is a large agency. You’re going to have people who loved and adored everything Comey did and you're going to have people who disagreed with what he did. And so, these subjective claims about everyone in the agency loving him or hating him are kind of silly because you can get people who agree one way or the other. I will note that during the time when Comey was doing what he was doing right before the election, the media was full stories saying that people didn't trust him and the FBI and people were very concerned. And now that it's switched, we see a different narrative being put forth.
I think though, what really needs to happen is that people just need to accept the reality that Donald Trump is president. And he’s going to do certain things—He might not be candid in talking about why he does something in a way that's very different from the way previous presidents had done. And it would be good if everyone could just come to terms with the fact that someone very different, Donald Trump, is now president.
…
