The Situation Room

Newt Gingrich Flays CNN for 'Selective Outrage' Over Ted Nugent Controversy
By Matt Hadro | February 18, 2014 | 7:59 PM EST

Crossfire co-host Newt Gingrich exposed CNN's double standard on Tuesday when he slammed the network for "selective outrage" over conservative Ted Nugent's remarks about President Obama, and Nugent's support of Texas GOP gubernatorial candidate Greg Abbott.

"I always love selective media outrage. As the party of Hollywood, the Democrats have lots of donors and supporters who say truly stupid things. Truly outrageous things," insisted Gingrich. Among those Democratic donors is liberal comedian Bill Maher, who said horrible things about Sarah Palin and Michelle Bachmann on CNN and yet guest-hosted on the network back in 2012.

CNN Touts Obama's 'Victory Lap' on ObamaCare Numbers, But Ignores Concern From Insurers
By Matt Hadro | February 14, 2014 | 6:43 PM EST

CNN gave a prime exhibition of lazy journalism on Friday's The Situation Room when it touted Obama's "victory lap" because of "new ObamaCare enrollment numbers" without fact-checking to see if his optimism is warranted.

"President Obama is taking something of a victory lap I guess you could say," reported host Brianna Keilar. "At a meeting with House Democrats he praised his party for sticking it out on the debt ceiling fight and touted his administration's new ObamaCare enrollment numbers."

Wolf Blitzer Pesters Rand Paul With Pro-ObamaCare Spin
By Matt Hadro | February 4, 2014 | 11:35 PM EST

CNN's Wolf Blitzer pelted Sen. Rand Paul with pro-ObamaCare talking points on Tuesday's The Situation Room, going so far as to list what he thought were the "all the positive features" of the law.

"But you like the fact that people can stay on their parents' health insurance programs until they reach the age of 26. That you don't have to worry about pre-existing conditions any longer. You can change your jobs, still get health insurance. You like all the positive features of the Affordable Care Act?" Blitzer pressed the senator.

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 Slams 'Narrow-Minded' Duck Dynasty Star for 'Homophobic Remarks'
By Matt Hadro | December 23, 2013 | 6:43 PM EST

On Monday, CNN anchors opened fire on "narrow-minded" Duck Dynasty star Phil Robertson for his "homophobic remarks," and questioned the Biblical condemnation of homosexual behavior.

"I totally disagree with the guy," said outraged fill-in CNN anchor Kyra Phillips. "I think he's so narrow-minded and he really needs to, like, get with the times." Fill-in host Brianna Keilar called Robertson's comments "homophobic" on The Situation Room.

CNN Ignores Sen. Feinstein Wanting to Take Healthcare.gov Offline
By Matt Hadro | November 4, 2013 | 6:21 PM EST

Prominent Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein (Calif.) said she warned the White House to take Healthcare.gov offline until the site was fixed, but the administration wouldn't do it. CNN made no mention of her claim, made on Sunday's Face the Nation, and didn't ask her about it when she appeared on Monday's The Situation Room.

"I felt, and I said this directly to the President's chief of staff, they ought to take down the website until it was right," Feinstein said of the site's technical problems. "They believe that they need to keep it running and that they can sort out the difficulties," she added.

CNN Keeps Pounding GOP: 'Holding the American People Hostage,' Wanting to 'Destroy' Government
By Matt Hadro | October 7, 2013 | 4:20 PM EDT

Over the weekend, CNN anchors and guests blamed Republicans for the shutdown and smacked them for "holding the American people hostage" while opposing ObamaCare. That extended CNN's streak of pounding Tea Party Republicans for igniting the shutdown.

Below are some of the worst quotes from CNN anchors or guests on Republicans, the shutdown, and ObamaCare:

Wolf Blitzer Goes Easy on Obama; Ignores CNN's Poll, Kerry's Gaffe
By Matt Hadro | September 10, 2013 | 5:02 PM EDT

In his Monday interview with President Obama, CNN's Wolf Blitzer failed to ask any tough questions of the President. In contrast, Fox News's Chris Wallace grilled Obama over the administration's handling of the Syria conflict.

For instance, Wallace brought up the lack of popular support for a military intervention, Secretary of State John Kerry's comment that a military intervention would be "unbelievably small," and Republican criticisms that the administration has failed to make a convincing case for military action. Blitzer mentioned none of these things, though, simply teeing Obama up with soft questions.

NBC Barely Mentions RNC's Debate Boycott; CNN Drops the Story Over the Weekend
By Matt Hadro | August 19, 2013 | 4:18 PM EDT

After the Republican National Committee voted to refuse CNN and NBC from hosting 2016 GOP primary debates, NBC took two days to even mention the news before again ignoring it. In fact, CBS spent more time covering the boycott of NBC than NBC itself did.

The RNC threatened a boycott after CNN Films and NBC Entertainment both planned productions on Democrat Hillary Clinton as she is predicted to run for president in 2016. At Friday's summer meeting, the RNC made good on its threat, but NBC reported it only once.

Shock: CNN Anchors Tire of 'Silly,' 'Stupid' Rodeo Clown Controversy
By Matt Hadro | August 16, 2013 | 3:55 PM EDT

What's going on at CNN? On Thursday afternoon CNN's Athena Jones called the Missouri rodeo clown controversy a "firestorm," but CNN's tone changed within a matter of hours.

On Thursday night's Piers Morgan Live, Morgan admitted "it's all a bit silly" and agreed with Newt Gingrich that the outrage over the stunt "is all a bit ridiculous." Then on Friday morning, anchor Carol Costello huffed, "May I be blunt? This whole controversy is being blown way out of proportion and it's just kind of stupid now."

13 State Attys General Warn of Possible Obamacare 'Privacy Disaster;' CNN Has Yet to Report
By Matt Hadro | August 15, 2013 | 4:23 PM EDT

13 GOP state attorneys general sent a letter to HHS Secretary Sebelius on Wednesday detailing serious concerns over Obamacare's privacy protections and warning of a "privacy disaster waiting to happen." As of Thursday afternoon, CNN has yet to report the letter that Politico and The Washington Times picked up.

"As chief legal officers of our states, we are concerned that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services ("HHS") has failed to adequately protect the privacy of those who will use the assistance programs connected with the new health insurance exchanges," the letter began.

Obamacare Security System 'Months Behind,' 'Might Open With Security Flaws'; CNN Ignores
By Matt Hadro | August 9, 2013 | 11:54 AM EDT

Alarm bells are ringing over the status of Obamacare's privacy protection system, which is scheduled to start October 1 despite missed deadlines in getting it ready to operate. CNN has made no mention of the Inspector General report on the missed deadlines.

Reuters said the government was "months behind" in testing the system's security, where personal information would be stored to determine a person's eligibility for subsidies in purchasing health insurance at state exchanges. If the system was rolled out as scheduled before it was ready, "The most likely serious security breach would be identity theft," Reuters said.