Ashleigh Banfield

CNN Anchor Says Investigators Could Threaten Felony Murder Charge to Induce Testimony From Christie Aide
By Matt Hadro | January 9, 2014 | 1:01 PM EST

CNN's Ashleigh Banfield asserted on Thursday that the threat of a felony murder charge could be used to get information on the "bridgegate" surrounding New Jersey Governor Chris Christie.

"And then there can also be the very serious possibility that a death resulted from the actions of someone, right?" Banfield said of the George Washington Bridge lane closures that Christie aides were reportedly connected to. "So if that's the case, an extraordinarily serious end of this could be felony murder, because it is a felony to do this kind of thing if it can be proven to shut down those lanes for no good reason."

CNN Hypes Legal Marijuana In Colorado; 'Amazing Experience to Witness'
By Matt Hadro | January 2, 2014 | 6:25 PM EST

As Colorado stores began legally selling marijuana to customers on Wednesday, CNN hyped the opening as "history being made" and an "amazing experience to be a part of and to witness."

"[H]istory being made there in Colorado," noted New Day co-host Michaela Pereira on Thursday. Anchor Ashleigh Banfield excitedly reported that "some people have waited a lifetime and others have waited in line for hours in the cold just for a chance to legally buy some weed just to smoke for fun."

CNN Rebukes Guest for Calling Obama's False Insurance Guarantee a 'Lie'
By Matt Hadro | November 5, 2013 | 4:04 PM EST

CNN is still giving President Obama the extreme benefit of the doubt over his false promise that Americans could keep their insurance under ObamaCare.

The President added words to his promise on Tuesday, that Americans could keep their insurance "if it hasn't changed since the law passed." Anchor Ashleigh Banfield then suggested he call his initial promise an "oversight" and rebuked conservative guest Will Cain who called it a "lie."

GOP Rep Blasts CNN Anchor: 'Are You Here to Give Us a Tirade?'
By Matt Hadro | September 30, 2013 | 2:04 PM EDT

CNN's Ashleigh Banfield scolded two Republican congressmen for bringing the U.S. economy "to the brink," and one of them retorted that she was giving them a "tirade."

"[W]hy connect the funding of the government, the entire U.S. economy, why bring it to this brink? Why not do it at all of the other times? All of the other 100-plus congresses have been able to fund the government," Banfield asked Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.).

CNN Anchors Cheer DOMA Gutting; Hype Court Decisions as 'Watershed Moment In History'
By Matt Hadro | June 26, 2013 | 12:46 PM EDT

CNN anchors cheered the Supreme Court striking down the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) on Wednesday, and hyped the Court's decisions on same-sex marriage as a "watershed moment in history."

Host Piers Morgan spiked the ball on DOMA's grave, tweeting "RIP bigotry. #SCOTUS #DOMA". Openly-gay anchor Don Lemon tweeted "Big day for civil rights. #lgbt. #cnn".

CNN Anchor Draws Legal Parallel Between Catholic Teacher's Firing and Sharia Law Stoning
By Matt Hadro | May 30, 2013 | 3:09 PM EDT

Chalk this one up to the absurd. CNN's Ashleigh Banfield on Wednesday tried to draw a legal parallel between a Sharia Law execution and a Catholic school firing a teacher for violating her contract by disobeying church teaching on pregnancy. Banfield argued both violated the teacher's Constitutional rights.

"Well if it's an Islamic school and they decide to go with Sharia Law and they decide to stone me for this, they can't do that either," Banfield ridiculously argued. "Then don't sign up to be the teacher," responded prosecutor Christine Grillo, who multiple times reiterated that the teacher had violated her contract.

Monday's Amnesia: CNN Covers Powerball Jackpot Winner as Much as IRS, AP, Benghazi Scandals
By Matt Hadro | May 20, 2013 | 4:54 PM EDT

CNN's scrutiny of the Obama administration's scandals has fallen sharply from last week. From 7 a.m. until 2 p.m. ET on Monday, CNN spent about as much time on Obama's "triple trouble" of controversy as it did on Saturday's Powerball-winning ticket.

CNN spent 12 full minutes reporting that one single ticket won the $590 million Powerball jackpot over the weekend, and had yet to be claimed. In comparison, three Obama administration scandals merited about the same coverage, 12 minutes, 21 seconds. Yet over three minutes of that coverage focused on the President's rising approval ratings amidst the controversies.

CNN's Banfield: 'Take Me Off the Ledge' and Tell Me IRS Audits Weren't Political
By Matt Hadro | May 17, 2013 | 6:22 PM EDT

After Friday's IRS testimony before Congress, CNN's Ashleigh Banfield begged CNN host Candy Crowley to "take me off the ledge" and explain that the agency was simply doing its job looking for "sleazeballs that are trying to get special status."

Crowley shot down Banfield's astoundingly ignorant plea. "And the only sleazeballs have 'Tea Party' in their name or 'patriot'? What about 'progressive'?" Crowley asked of the agency's double standard in investigating Tea Party groups while approving liberal groups more quickly.

CNN Anchors Nancy Grace and Ashleigh Banfield Interview Each Other in Same Parking Lot
By Matthew Sheffield | May 10, 2013 | 11:38 AM EDT

CNN anchor Ashleigh Banfield and HLN anchor Nancy Grace gave eagle-eyed viewers some mild laughs following yesterday's verdict in the Jodi Arias trial as they appeared in a split-screen setup talking via satellite uplink even though they were seated right next to each other.

The Atlantic Wire's Dashiell Bennett and Philip Bump caught the "Anchorman"-esque bit of comedy and documented it with several animated GIF images showing various vehicles passing in the background from each anchor's camera.

Is ‘All In With Chris Hayes’ Making MSNBC’s Prime-Time Ratings Fall Downward?
By Randy Hall | May 2, 2013 | 11:14 PM EDT

When MSNBC announced in March that Ed Schultz's weeknight program, “The Ed Show,” was being replaced by “All In,” which is hosted by 34-year-old Chris Hayes, the executives of the "Lean Forward" network hoped that the new hour-long program would hold onto the channel's liberal audience and even draw in younger viewers.

Instead, the ratings for Hayes' broadcasts in April were down 18 percent in total viewers from that month's numbers in 2012 for “Ed,” and it appears that “All In” is also dragging down the viewership for “The Rachel Maddow Show,” which was off by seven percent from its ratings during that period a year ago, and “The Last Word With Lawrence O'Donnell,” which also fell eight percent in a year-to-year comparison.

CNN Quotes Meryl Streep, Gerry Adams as Legitimate Critics of Margaret Thatcher
By Matt Hadro | April 8, 2013 | 3:48 PM EDT

In discussing the late Margaret Thatcher's legacy, CNN's Ashleigh Banfield gave a platform to liberal Hollywood actress Meryl Streep and former Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams, who had ties to the IRA during Thatcher's time as British prime minister.

Adams predictably savaged Thatcher for causing "great hurt" to Ireland and England. Meanwhile, because Streep portrayed Thatcher in the film "The Iron Lady," CNN sought her out as an expert on Thatcher's legacy, and Streep rapped her economic policies: "Her hard-nosed fiscal measures took a toll on the poor, and her hands-off approach to financial regulation led to great wealth for others."

CNN Asks If Bush Officials Should Be Tried for War Crimes
By Matt Hadro | March 19, 2013 | 6:21 PM EDT

A CNN headline during Tuesday's 11 a.m. hour of Newsroom asked, "Should Bush officials be tried for war crimes?" CNN legal analyst Lisa Bloom argued that the U.S. should submit to the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court for the mass murder of Iraqis that far exceeded the 9/11 atrocities.

Bloom downplayed the 9/11 terror attacks in the face of the Iraq War. When anchor Ashleigh Banfield noted that America responded to 9/11 with force and not in a "sanguine" manner, Bloom compared it to the Iraqi casualty count: "And that was 4,000, not 100,000, not 10 years."