As an epidemic of crime ravages cities like Philadelphia, Chicago, San Francisco and Los Angeles, the networks are hiding the people making the situation much worse: Big city district attorneys who refuse to prosecute crime, partisans who are all backed by extreme leftist billionaire George Soros. The ABC, CBS and NBC morning and evening shows are barely mentioning the men and women who put in place these disastrous policies. And they’re certainly not mentioning any connection to Soros.
NewsBusters analysts looked at the crime coverage in these cities on the networks from January 1, 2022 through September 30th and found few mentions of people like Larry Krasner (Phildephia District Attorney), Chesa Boudin (recalled San Francisco District Attorney), George Gascon (Los Angeles District Attorney) and Kim Foxx (State attorney for Cook County, Illinois).
Here’s the scant amount of coverage for these leftists and how each of them are connected to the far-left Soros.
Larry Krasner, District Attorney in Philadelphia
On September 30, Philadelphia reached the grim milestone of 400 murders. On September 27, five teenagers were shot at a city high school. Yet, in the totality of 2022, ABC, CBS and NBC only allowed four mentions of the city’s district attorney, Larry Krasner. Why does that name mater? On March 23, the City Journal explained back in March, “[He] recently announced plans to de-prosecute crimes for offenders aged 18 to 25, ignoring how this age group tends to contain the most violent of criminal defendants.”
None of the few mentions noted that Soros donated $1.7 million in 2017 to elect Krasner. Instead, on the August 17 CBS Evening News, reporter Elaine Quijano acted clueless about the rising crime, asking the DA: “What do you think is behind this spike in violence?” Naturally, he blamed a lack of gun control. On the June 6 Evening News, Jericka Duncan related that Krasner “calls what’s happening in his city heartbreaking.” No mention of his policies.
Total mentions of far-left Philadelphia DA Larry Krasner: 4
Total mentions of his connection to George Soros: 0
Chesa Boudin, (Recalled) District Attorney in San Francisco
Chesa Boudin is so radical that he proved too extreme even for the liberal population of San Francisco. He badly lost a recall vote with almost 60 percent voting to remove the man who stopped the prosecution of minors as adults.
If you want a sense of just how radical Boudin, whose parents were Weather Underground terrorists, really is, here’s how the New York Post described him in December of 2021:
A former public defender and translator for former Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez, Boudin has promised to end mass incarceration and cash bail.
The ex-DA has the distinction of having the support of Soros, though not through financial donations. The Washington Free Beacon explained:
...While it is true that Soros has never directly contributed to his campaigns, Boudin is one of Soros's favorite prosecutors. The Soros-funded group Fair and Just Prosecution, for example, has Boudin featured in its "meet the movement" section.
Yet despite all of this, the first mention of Boudin came on the June 7 NBC Nightly News. It was recall day and reporter Jake Ward finally explained to viewers that “Boudin could easily lose his job in one of America’s most progressive cities as San Francisco struggles with homelessness, hate crimes, and violence.” He added, “Homicides and assaults up 11 percent so far this year”
On the June 8 Good Morning America, Eva Pilgrim related, “But critics say, he was soft on crime as he made attempts to ease sentencing and reduce incarcerations.”
On the June 8 CBS Mornings, Ed O’Keefe reiterated, “High-profile examples of crime like smash-and-grab robberies and anti-Asian attacks inspired the recall campaign and made accusations he is soft on crime.” Naturally, no mention of Soros.
Total mentions of far-left San Francisco DA Chesa Boudin: 5
Total mentions of his connection to George Soros: 0
Kim Foxx, State Attorney for Cook County
More than 2,352 people have been shot in Chicago this year. Four hundred and 48 have been killed in 2022. And while that’s down from the previous year, it’s well above pre-pandemic years like 2019. As the New York Post observed in December of 2021, “Chicago’s Kim Foxx was Soros’ first success. He contributed $300,000 to her first campaign in 2016, and a further $2 million for her successful re-election run last year.”
And yet, there’s been no coverage of Foxx at all in 2022 on the morning and evening newscasts. This is despite the violence and turmoil within her office. As the local NBC Chicago affiliate’s website noted in August:
State’s Attorney Kim Foxx – like others calling for reform across the country – are facing pushback from those who say the office is not tough enough on crime.
Total mentions of far-left State Attorney for Cook County Kim Foxx: 0
Total mentions of her connection to George Soros: 0
George Gascon, District Attorney for Los Angeles
According to an analysis by the Heritage Foundation, “George Gascón’s policies are outrageous, dangerous, pro-criminal, and according to the association representing many of his deputies, against state law.” They include not prosecuting many crimes and attempting to avoid jail sentences for criminals.
And yet, Gascon has only been mentioned twice on the networks. As for the Soros connection? On September 28, 2020, the California Globe noted, “Soros has already funded more than $2.5 million of George Gascón’s race for Los Angeles District Attorney.” No notice of that on the networks.
In one of the two mentions, on the June 17, 2022 NBC Nightly News, anchor Lester Holt spent time hyping Gascon’s goals:
Riding a wave of support for criminal justice reform, Gascon took office in late 2020, promising to dramatically remake the nation’s largest DA’s office, issuing a series of major policy directives aimed largely at reducing sentences and the prison population. Among them efforts aimed at ending cash bail, largely eliminating the use of sentencing enhancements, and a moratorium on trying juveniles as adults.
Eventually, he got to the bad news: “But the rise in violent crime which began before Gascon took off is appears to have eroded that support. Last year, homicides reached a 15-year high, surging 54 percent since 2019.”
Total mentions of far-left Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascon: 2
Total mentions of his connection to George Soros: 0
Out of control crime in cities like Philadelphia, Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco is undeniable. It’s also clear that these big city district attorneys have embraced a Soros-backed soft-on-time position. But the networks aren’t interested in investigating that Soros connection or the deadly impact it may be having.
