Major Garrett

Networks Push Illegal Immigrants, Pro-Amnesty Group Ahead of Obama’s Speech
By Curtis Houck | November 20, 2014 | 10:38 PM EST

Ahead of President Obama’s speech on immigration on Thursday night, the major broadcast networks all did their parts to push the arguments in favor of his executive amnesty ranging from a whole segment devoted to a family that would benefit from the President’s executive order to promoting one pro-amnesty group.

On the CBS Evening News with Scott Pelley, over two minutes was spent on segment promoting a family of children born in the U.S. with an illegal immigrant mother, who currently is in an Arizona detention center, but now could be allowed to be freed and apply to become a U.S. resident under the President’s executive amnesty.

CBS Yet To Acknowledge Obama’s Executive Order Flip-Flop
By Jeffrey Meyer | November 20, 2014 | 10:23 AM EST

On Wednesday, the White House announced that President Obama is scheduled to issue an executive action on Thursday night that could potentially prevent up to 5 million illegal immigrants from being deported. While the “big three” (ABC, CBS, and NBC) networks have all reported on the president’s immigration proposals, CBS is the only network to not mention that President Obamaa has flip-flopped on having the power to issue such an executive order. 

CBS and NBC Parrot WH Argument on Previous Presidential Immigration Policies as Grounds for Amnesty
By Curtis Houck | November 19, 2014 | 10:38 PM EST

On Wednesday night, CBS and NBC promoted the White House talking point that previous presidential actions on immigration gives President Barack Obama the proper legal authority to enact executive amnesty the evening before a primetime address to the nation on the topic. 

At no point during the coverage on either network did their reporters mention that this justification is being used despite the President’s previous assertions that he did not have the proper legal means to carry out any sort of mass-reaching executive order on illegal immigration. 

Anonymous Obama Staffer Trashes Netanyahu; ABC and NBC Fail to Cover
By Curtis Houck | October 30, 2014 | 5:49 PM EDT

As of Thursday morning, both ABC and NBC have ignored the latest rift in the relationship between the United States and Israel as “a senior Obama administration official” told Jeffrey Goldberg of The Atlantic that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was nothing more than a “coward” and "chickens***." 

Both the Wednesday evening and Thursday morning newscasts on ABC and NBC made no mention of this story, which further cements the chilly reception Netanyahu and President Obama have had for each other throughout Obama’s presidency. 

With Just Two Weeks Before Election Day, ABC, NBC Fail to Mention Midterms
By Curtis Houck | October 21, 2014 | 10:17 PM EDT

On Tuesday, ABC and NBC made no mention of the upcoming midterm elections, which were two weeks away from Tuesday and include numerous Senate races that will decide whether Republicans or Democrats control the U.S. Senate.

ABC’s Good Morning America, ABC World News Tonight with David Muir, NBC’s Today, and NBC Nightly News made no mention of the midterm elections in their evening newscasts while the CBS Evening News with Scott Pelley ran not one but two segments on the topic during its Tuesday night broadcast. 

ABC, NBC Ignore Report Claiming White House Lied About Prostitution Scandal
By Jeffrey Meyer | October 9, 2014 | 10:07 AM EDT

On Thursday morning, the Washington Post reported that senior White House officials knew that an Obama volunteer hired a prostitute during the infamous Colombia prostitution scandal of 2012 but Team Obama tried to cover up such information during the official investigation. Despite the Post report, CBS This Morning was the only network morning show to acknowledge the story during its Thursday morning broadcast. ABC's Good Morning America and NBC’s Today predictably ignored the report altogether. 

ABC, NBC Continue to Ignore Damaging Biden Gaffes on U.S. Allies in the Middle East
By Curtis Houck | October 6, 2014 | 10:27 PM EDT

On Monday night, ABC and NBC continued its blackout of Vice President Joe Biden’s latest gaffes regarding U.S. allies in the Middle East that led to the White House forcing Biden to call and apologize to Turkey and the United Arab Emirates over the weekend. 

Additionally, NBC continued to not cover Biden’s other gaffe made in the same speech at Harvard University, in which he uttered an expletive when remarking to Harvard’s student body vice president about being the second person in command.

Attkisson Reports Latest on Fast & Furious; ABC, NBC Omit Scandal in Holder Coverage
By Matthew Balan | September 26, 2014 | 2:58 PM EDT

Mere hours before President Obama announced Attorney General Eric Holder's resignation, Sharyl Attkisson reported on Thursday that U.S. District Court Judge John Bates ordered the Justice Department to "turn over a list of withheld Fast and Furious documents by Oct. 22 [2014]." CBS Evening News mentioned Fast and Furious in their coverage of the Holder announcement that evening, but NBC Nightly News failed to mention the scandal (ABC's World News didn't cover the resignation at all).

Only CBS Provides Full Coverage of Eric Holder Controversies
By Kyle Drennen | September 26, 2014 | 1:13 PM EDT

Of the three broadcast evening newscasts Thursday night, only the CBS Evening News offered a full report on the resignation of controversial Attorney General Eric Holder. NBC Nightly News only offered a news brief on the topic, while ABC's World News amazingly skipped the news completely – though it did find the time to provide a full segment on Yankees captain Derek Jeter retiring.

On Friday's morning shows, the pattern was similar. CBS This Morning featured another full story on Holder's contentious tenure at the Justice Department while NBC's Today and ABC's Good Morning America each included mere seconds of coverage. However, both NBC and ABC devoted full reports to Jeter.

ABC, NBC Ignore Lack of Specifics in Obama’s Upcoming ISIS Speech
By Curtis Houck | September 10, 2014 | 12:40 AM EDT

On Tuesday night, ABC’s World News Tonight with David Muir and NBC Nightly News omitted from their coverage any mention that President Obama’s upcoming speech to the country on Wednesday night will not include some crucial details on how he plans to go about defeating the Islamic terrorist group ISIS.

In contrast, the CBS Evening News offered a more detailed report with CBS News chief White House correspondent Major Garrett telling viewers that the President’s speech “appears short on specifics.” Garrett reported in a one-minute-and-two-second segment that “[t]here will be no timetable for defeating ISIS and no cost estimates for the emerging military campaign.”

NBC's Brian Williams: Obama ‘Appeared to Be Clear and Unambiguous’ on ISIS
By Curtis Houck | September 3, 2014 | 9:49 PM EDT

On Wednesday night’s NBC Nightly News, anchor Brian Williams completely missed the mark on President Obama’s mixed signals regarding how his administration intends to deal with the threat of the Islamic terrorist group ISIS and omitted remarks from Obama that ISIS can be contained to the point of being “a manageable problem.”

At the top of the broadcast, Williams made this blatant falsehood: “[F]or all those who may be wondering if the U.S. is going to rise up, take the bait and get into the fight to root them out, the answer today from both the President and Vice President appeared to be clear and unambiguous.” [MP3 audio here; Video below]

CBS 'This Morning' Covers for Obama on Vacation, Golfing After Statement on James Foley’s Murder
By Curtis Houck | August 22, 2014 | 1:02 PM EDT

Friday’s CBS This Morning dove into the subject of President Obama vacationing in Martha’s Vineyard while events domestically and internationally rage, including the brutal murder of American journalist James Foley at the hands of the Islamic terrorist group ISIS. While they were the only network to mention this story, the report from CBS News White House Correspondent Major Garrett and discussion among the hosts afterward did little more than cover for the president.

At the segment's conclusion, co-host Norah O’Donnell compared Obama’s golfing minutes after making a statement about Foley’s murder to former President George W. Bush going golfing after speaking about a suicide bombing in Iraq. O’Donnell observed that: [MP3 audio here; See the video after the jump]