MSNBC stopped their live coverage of the Barr hearing to fact check Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Lindsey Graham as he lied about no collusion.
MSNBC Refused To Give Lindsey Graham A Platform To Lie
Graham said, “What did we learn from this after all this time and all this money, Mr. Mueller and his team concluded there was no collusion. I didn’t know. Like many of you here, on the Republican side, we all agreed that Mr. Mueller should be allowed to do his job without interference. I draw with some colleagues on the other side to introduce legislation to protect the special counsel could only be removed for cause. He was never removed. He was allowed to do his job. So, no collusion. No coordination. No conspiracy between the trump campaign and the Russian government regarding the 2016 election. As to obstruction of justice, Mr. Mueller left it to Mr. Barr to decide after two years and all of this time he said, Mr. Barr, you decide. Mr. Barr did.”
MSNBC cut away from Graham and back to Brian Williams who said, “We’re reluctant to do this and we rarely do but the chairman of the judiciary committee just said that Mueller found there was no collusion. That is not correct. Nicole Wallace, the report says collusion is not a thing they considered. It doesn’t exist in federal law.”
Nicolle Wallace added, “What is stunning is that Lindsey Graham is offering answers to questions not on the table today. The question on the table tonight is why did Barr mischaracterize what was in the report. I’m sorry Lindsey Graham, your defensiveness is showing.”
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MSNBC has a policy of providing facts to their viewers
From not airing Trump’s rallies to going through the tape of the president’s public comments to fact check them before they are played on the air, MSNBC has a policy of not giving this administration an open platform to lie to their viewers. It is good to see that someone at the network made the call to break into the coverage and tell their viewers the truth.
When an administration, and their enablers like Sen. Graham, are hellbent on misleading the American people, it is vital for our democracy that mainstream networks use their power to keep the public informed.
MSNBC is doing the right thing, and showing why they are challenging Fox News for the title of the top cable news network in the US.
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Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
