What a JOKE: CNN Propagandists Accuse Barr of 'Parroting Trump's Talking Points'

July 29th, 2020 6:45 PM

On Wednesday’s New Day, CNN co-hosts Alisyn Camerota and John Berman brought on legal analyst Elie Honig and Early Start anchor Laura Jarrett to “parrot” Democratic talking points about Attorney General William Barr’s responses at the House Judiciary Committee Hearing on Tuesday. Demonstrating a startling lack of self-awareness, the partisan hacks accused Barr of “parroting Trump's talking points” and “President Trump's propaganda.”

Camerota and Honig started the segment by bashing Barr:

 

 

CAMEROTA: Elie, you say that you found some of his answers and explanations implausible. Such as?

HONIG Yeah, well, such as the one we just saw. Look, look at all the things that Bill Barr either did not know or claimed he did not know, right? He's the Attorney General of the United States and can't give a straight answer to a straightforward question about whether it's okay to take foreign assistance in an election. By the way, that's a crime. 

Berman and Camerota then speculated that Barr was trying to cover up for Trump allegedly colluding with Russia:

BERMAN: That pause was crazy, when Cicilline asked him about foreign assistance to elections. What's the pause there? What could you possibly be wondering?

CAMEROTA: Well, I mean, first, Cicilline didn't say "Foreign," he didn't explicitly say foreign, and so Barr was acting as though, like, assistance of volunteers? I mean, he was acting as though he didn't know that that was what Cicilline meant.

BERMAN: Yeah, that's giving -- that’s giving the Attorney General a lot of credit there. That -- that -- that pause was -- was loaded.

Jarrett than parroted the House Democrats by going on a rant against Barr:

Oh, absolutely because he presents this image of the bulldog that the President wants, right? This is -- this is -- it's -- it’s a spectacle, obviously, for the President and -- and his allies, who want to see a strong push back. This is what they always wanted in Attorney General Jeff Sessions and what they didn't get, especially when it comes to Russia. But I think the -- the overall pictures, taking a step back on yesterday, it was really about the even-handed administration of justice. And what you saw that is coming up in both the context of the racial justice protests, but also this whole conversation of how Barr has put his thumb on the scale for the President's friends and longtime allies -- allies, including Roger Stone and also the former National Security Adviser, Michael Flynn.

Unfazed by her own glaring hypocrisy, Camerota warned of Barr being Trump’s propagandist: "Elie, Attorney General Barr said that he is not a factotum for the President, his words. But you heard -- what you heard him talking about -- you say he is a parrot for the President. You think he does parrot the -- President Trump's propaganda." Without any sense of shame, Honig eagerly pushed the DNC-approved line (click "expand"):  

Yeah, Alisyn, honestly, throughout the day yesterday, I kept finding myself thinking, this is the Attorney General of the United States? For real? I mean, he didn't sound like any of the AGs I served under Republican or Democrat, he sounded more like the White House spokesperson or a campaign manager. I mean, his big theme, as Laura said is, I'm 100% independent. I don't do politics.

I mean, who's he kidding? Are we to believe that out of the 60,000 plus cases DOJ handles in a year, he just happened to settle upon two close advisers of the President, Michael Flynn and Roger Stone, to intervene? I mean, what -- what a cosmic coincidence. Also, his rhetoric. He was parroting Trump's talking points. The bogus Russiagate scandal, a -- a point of view that's already been thoroughly disproven, that's a political talking point. He blamed --  he went out of his way to blame the Obama administration for the COVID response. This is not how a prosecutor talks. That's how a political operative talks.

Well, CNN would know, they are experts on being political propagandists and parrots. For example, Honig is still pushing the debunked Russia collusion narrative even though the Obama officials who were involved in the investigation testified under oath that there was no collusion.

Jarrett ended the segment by defending Portland’s “peaceful protesters”:

The -- the problem I think is -- is more that it gets to that he seems to have a misunderstanding of who these protesters are and why they're there. He, like the President, is depicting this as if this is just a bunch of anarchists running all over Portland, when in fact you see walls of military veterans, walls of moms who are there demonstrating in the name of free speech. He also is sort of pointing to Black Lives Matter and saying, well why aren't you looking at so-called black-on-black crime as -- as if that's the issue, when it's a complete non sequitur, it’s completely irrelevant.

Jarrett must not care about black lives, since around 90% of violent black deaths are due to black-on-black crime.

This parroting of Democratic talking points was brought to viewers by Just for Men and Procter & Gamble. Let them know here what you think about them sponsoring this content.

Read the full July 29th transcript here:

CNN's New Day
07/29/20
6:32:38 AM

ALISYN CAMEROTA: Joining us now, CNN legal analyst Elie Honig, he’s a former federal prosecutor. Also with us, Early Start anchor, Laura Jarrett. She covered the Justice Department for CNN. Okay, I know you both watched this very closely. Eli, you say that you found some of his answers and explanations implausible. Such as? 

ELIE HONIG (CNN LEGAL ANALYST): Yeah, well, such as the one we just saw. Look, look at all the things that Bill Barr either did not know or claimed he did not know, right? He's the Attorney General of the United States and can't give a straight answer to a straightforward question about whether it's okay to take foreign assistance in an election. By the way, that's a crime. He also claimed he didn't know if the President had the power to move the date of the election. The answer, by the way, is no, it's in the Constitution, only Congress can do that. He said he hadn't seen President Trump’s tweets about Michael Flynn and Roger Stone, it just so happened that those were the two cases he intervened on. He said he didn’t even understand what an arrest is when -- when there was talk about how protesters were being put in vans and questioned. He said, I'm not even sure that's an arrest. So, whether he's faking it or he’s incompetent, either way to me was a big problem and I think really hurt his credibility. 

JOHN BERMAN: That pause was crazy, when Cicilline asked him about foreign assistance to elections. What's the pause there? What could you possibly be wondering?

CAMEROTA: Well, I mean, first, Cicilline didn't say "Foreign," he didn't explicitly say foreign, and so Barr was acting as though, like, assistance of volunteers? I mean, he was acting as though he didn't know that that was what Cicilline meant. 

BERMAN: Yeah, that's giving -- that’s giving the Attorney General a lot of credit there. That -- that -- that pause was -- was loaded. Laura Jarrett, you covered the Justice Department for years. I imagine were you still walking the halls this morning, you would get word from aides to William Barr that they thought he did well. 

LAURA JARRETT (ANCHOR OF CNN’S EARLY START): Oh, absolutely because he presents this image of the bulldog that the President wants, right? This is -- this is -- it's -- it’s a spectacle, obviously, for the President and -- and his allies, who want to see a strong push back. This is what they always wanted in Attorney General Jeff Sessions and what they didn't get, especially when it comes to Russia. But I think the -- the overall pictures, taking a step back on yesterday, it was really about the even-handed administration of justice. And what you saw that is coming up in both the context of the racial justice protests, but also this whole conversation of how Barr has put his thumb on the scale for the President's friends and longtime allies -- allies, including Roger Stone and also the former National Security Adviser, Michael Flynn. And -- and Barr's whole argument is, well, I haven't treated them differently. Stone's an old man, the sentence was unfair. And so he says, look, I haven't actually prosecuted any of the President's enemies. That can't be the bar. That can't be where we are right now, that he hasn't actually prosecuted Obama, Biden, Clinton. But that seems to be his best argument. 

CAMEROTA: Elie, Attorney General Barr said that he is not a factotum for the President, his words. But you heard -- what you heard him talking about -- you say he is a parrot for the President. You think he does parrot the -- President Trump's propaganda. 

HONIG: Yeah, Alisyn, honestly, throughout the day yesterday, I kept finding myself thinking, this is the Attorney General of the United States? For real? I mean, he didn't sound like any of the AGs I served under Republican or Democrat, he sounded more like the White House spokesperson or a campaign manager. I mean, his big theme, as Laura said is, I'm 100% independent. I don't do politics. I mean, who's he kidding? Are we to believe that out of the 60,000 plus cases DOJ handles in a year, he just happened to settle upon two close advisers of the President, Michael Flynn and Roger Stone, to intervene? I mean, what -- what a cosmic coincidence. Also, his rhetoric. He was parroting Trump's talking points. The bogus Russiagate scandal, a -- a point of view that's already been thoroughly disproven, that's a political talking point. He blamed --  he went out of his way to blame the Obama administration for the COVID response. This is not how a prosecutor talks. That's how a political operative talks. 

BERMAN: I want to play one more exchange between David Cicilline, the Congressman from Rhode Island and the Attorney General. I do think, by the way, although we're past this, that Cicilline did say foreign assistance the very first time he asked as well. 

CAMEROTA: I have the transcript right here. 

BERMAN: Let's play it. Let's play it. Let’s play it.

CAMEROTA: Let's play it. Let's play it.

[Cuts to video]

REP. DAVID CICILLINE (D-RI): Do you think it's ever appropriate to use tear gas on peaceful protesters? Yes or no? 

ATTORNEY GENERAL WILLIAM BARR: Well, the problem in these things sometimes occur because it's hard to separate people who may be -- 

CICILLINE: Mr. Barr, my question is very specific. Do you think it is ever appropriate to use tear gas on peaceful protesters --

BARR: It is --

CICILLINE: -- yes or no? 

BARR: It is -- it is appropriate to use tear gas when it's indicated to disperse -- 

CICILLINE: On peaceful protesters? 

BARR: To disperse an unlawful assembly, and --

CICILLINE: Sir --

BARR: -- sometimes unfortunately peaceful protesters are affected by it.

CICILLINE: Okay.

[Cuts to live]

BERMAN: Let’s stick on this one, Laura, because that's the one we played. What do you make of that? 

JARRETT: Look, he's a -- he’s a lawyer, he's going to hedge. The -- the problem I think is -- is more that it gets to that he seems to have a misunderstanding of who these protesters are and why they're there. He, like the President, is depicting this as if this is just a bunch of anarchists running all over Portland, when in fact you see walls of military veterans, walls of moms who are there demonstrating in the name of free speech. He also is sort of pointing to Black Lives Matter and saying, well why aren't you looking at so-called black-on-black crime as -- as if that's the issue, when it's a complete non sequitur, it’s completely irrelevant, and pointing to evidence that doesn't even explain -- he doesn’t even explain how it disproportionately affects black people when it comes to being killed by the police. 

CAMEROTA: I think the point that we can all agree on is that he is a parser extraordinaire. And he parses even the simplest of terms, even the questions that everybody else kind of understands on their face, he insists on parsing. Eli, Laura, thank you both very much for all of that analysis.