I happened upon a video of Jake Tapper of CNN interviewing Adam Schiff on the CNN Sunday morning show. The discussion was about the resignation of the chief of staff at the Pentagon who said he was leaving to go back to the private sector. That's not surprising since there is a new Secretary of Defense (Acting) who will soon be replaced by a permanent nominee for that office. The new Secretary will undoubtedly want his or her own person in the role of chief of staff. To hear CNN tell it, however, this was an earth-shaking upheaval at the Pentagon. Tapper reported that an unnamed "source" had told CNN that the chief of staff had been "forced out" by the White House. Tapper then read a tweet from Obama's UN Ambassador (and spy on the Trump campaign) Samantha Power who lamented that the USA has no Attorney General, no Secretary of Defense and now no chief of staff at the Pentagon. Power concluded that this meant that Trump must be unhinged. Tapper asked Schiff if he agreed with Power and ever-shifty Schiff said that he did.
Think about that. A staff guy at the Pentagon resigns at a time one would well expect him to leave. Some unknown "source" supposedly tells CNN the guy was forced out although there is nothing to indicate that is true. It could be as accurate as CNN's story a few days ago that a source had told CNN that former senator Webb was being considered for the Secretary of Defense position (which turned out to be totally false). Tapper then quotes Power that there is no Attorney General -- which is untrue since Matthew Whitaker is the Acting Attorney General and William Barr has been nominated for the permanent position. Tapper quotes Power that there is no Secretary of Defense -- which is also untrue since there is an Acting Secretary in place while a nomination for the permanent position is being completed. A grim faced Tapper then asks the shifty one if he agrees and Schiff (who seems never to consider things based upon facts or truth but rather on their political impact) agrees.
It was truly strange to watch that. I understand that almost no one else in the world saw this exchange given the incredibly low ratings CNN gets for most shows and, in particular, its Sunday show, but still it was CNN and Tapper putting out a story with no basis, a quote that was obviously in conflict with the facts and an agreement from someone like Schiff who -- well, I won't say it.
Think about that. A staff guy at the Pentagon resigns at a time one would well expect him to leave. Some unknown "source" supposedly tells CNN the guy was forced out although there is nothing to indicate that is true. It could be as accurate as CNN's story a few days ago that a source had told CNN that former senator Webb was being considered for the Secretary of Defense position (which turned out to be totally false). Tapper then quotes Power that there is no Attorney General -- which is untrue since Matthew Whitaker is the Acting Attorney General and William Barr has been nominated for the permanent position. Tapper quotes Power that there is no Secretary of Defense -- which is also untrue since there is an Acting Secretary in place while a nomination for the permanent position is being completed. A grim faced Tapper then asks the shifty one if he agrees and Schiff (who seems never to consider things based upon facts or truth but rather on their political impact) agrees.
It was truly strange to watch that. I understand that almost no one else in the world saw this exchange given the incredibly low ratings CNN gets for most shows and, in particular, its Sunday show, but still it was CNN and Tapper putting out a story with no basis, a quote that was obviously in conflict with the facts and an agreement from someone like Schiff who -- well, I won't say it.
No comments:
Post a Comment