Towards the end of their political coverage during Sunday Today, NBC fill-in host Morgan Radford questioned Meet The Press moderator Chuck Todd about the veracity of a new investigation into the Clinton Foundation, which came to light last week. But in doing so, she conflated it with GOP senators asking the FBI for a criminal investigation in Christopher Steele, the British agent who worked with Russian agents to get dirt of President Trump on behalf of Hillary Clinton and the Democrats, and claimed it was all “fake news.”
With the false on-screen headline: "Republicans take aim at Clinton," Radford questioned Todd about the seriousness of the investigation. “So, break something else down for us, this real versus fake news. We've learned this week about developing investigations into the Clinton Foundation and the author of that controversial dossier, but is this a real investigation or is that just a political sideshow?”
Todd agreed that everything was a “political sideshow,” as he conflated Clinton Foundation investigation with the Steele investigation. It was shocking that Todd would accuse an FBI investigation of being conducted for political means because the liberal media have spent a lot of time denouncing Trump for what they claim was the erosion America’s confidence in its legal institutions.
“I mean, here you have Republican senators, including one, Lindsey Graham, who's been a big critic of this president when it comes to Russia, calling for perhaps a criminal investigation into the author of the dossier,” Todd continued. “Just adding that fuzziness to the investigation in Russia is something that the White House PR-wise is very happy about.”
But in reality, the latest investigation into the Clinton Foundation was anything but fake news. According to reports, the investigation had been going on for months and was investigating whether the foundation was a part of a pay-to-play scheme in conjunction with Hillary Clinton’s State Department.
“The officials, who spoke only on condition of anonymity, said the probe is examining whether the Clintons promised or performed any policy favors in return for largesse to their charitable efforts or whether donors made commitments of donations in hopes of securing government outcomes,” a report from The Hill noted.
The Hill also reported that the FBI was looking into the foundation’s tax-exempt assets to make sure any weren’t converted into “personal or political use and whether the foundation complied with applicable tax laws…”
The long history of the Clinton Foundation’s shady dealing was also noted by The Hill. “For years, news media from The New York Times to The Daily Caller have reported countless stories on donations to the Clinton Foundation or speech fees that closely fell around the time of favorable decisions by Clinton's State Department,” they recalled.
So, clearly, the investigation into the Clinton Foundation was anything but “fake news” as NBC would have their viewers believe. As for the senators requesting for the FBI to investigate Steele, Republican Senator Chuck Grassley (Iowa) told the press that he wouldn’t have backed the referral unless there was “credible evidence.”
Transcript below:
NBC
Sunday Today
January 7, 2018
8:09:20 AM Eastern(…)
MORGAN RADFORD: So, break something else down for us, this real versus fake news. We've learned this week about developing investigations into the Clinton Foundation and the author of that controversial dossier, but is this a real investigation or is that just a political sideshow?
CHUCK TODD: Well, it looks like it perhaps could be a political sideshow. But look, if you're the White House, you're very happy about this development. I mean, here you have Republican senators, including one, Lindsey Graham, who's been a big critic of this president when it comes to Russia, calling for perhaps a criminal investigation into the author of the dossier. Just adding that fuzziness to the investigation in Russia is something that the White House PR-wise is very happy about.
RADFORD: All right, Chuck Todd joining us live this morning. Chuck, thank you so much.
