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Thursday, June 14, 2018

So What Did They Cover?

The Inspector General of the Department of Justice issued the long awaited report today on how the FBI and the DOJ conducted the investigation of Hillary Clinton's private unsecured email system.  Also today, the New York Attorney General brought a civil suit against the Trump Foundation for allegedly letting political and personal considerations color which charities got grants from the foundation.  Also today, for the fourth month, the administration is enforcing the immigration law as written with regard to children brought illegally into the country by their parents.  So which of these stories did the media cover?

The answer should not surprise you.  On Fox News, nearly all the coverage was about the Inspector General's report and the many improprieties it uncovered.  I also checked CNN all night, and the main focus there was on immigration policy and children.  I saw three stories on the suit by the NY Attorney General and two about the Inspector General's report.  The focus of the CNN coverage of the IG report, however, was that it found no evidence of political bias in the Clinton investigation.  At MSNBC, the coverage was much like that on CNN. 

There were a series of mistakes on CNN and MSNBC.  For example, both networks called the move by the NY Attorney General a "criminal case" when that's wrong.  The suit in New York is a civil suit. 

So which of these three stories is the most important?  Clearly, it is not the fourth month of a policy of following the law with regard to those apprehended at the border.  That's old news, but it got more coverage on CNN and MSNBC than any other story.  How can that be?

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