By Brian Flood | Fox News
After breathlessly covering the Trump-Russia collusion theory for years, CNN tried to skip past Wednesday’s breaking news about Michael Flynn related to the since-debunked narrative — but critics say that’s par for the course.
Top Obama administration officials — including ex-Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, who is now a CNN analyst, and others working with then-Vice President Joe Biden — purportedly requested to “unmask” the identity of the former national security adviser during the presidential transition period, according to a list of names made public by Republican senators on Wednesday. The DOJ had been reviewing the unmasking of U.S. officials as part of its broader examination of the origins of the Trump-Russia investigation.
LIST OF OFFICIALS WHO SOUGHT TO ‘UNMASK’ FLYNN RELEASED: BIDEN, COMEY, OBAMA CHIEF OF STAFF AMONG THEM
CNN host Jake Tapper didn’t even mention it in the Wednesday’s edition of his show “The Lead,” which began shortly after the news broke. The story wasn’t mentioned on the cable news channel, or on its website, within the first three hours after the bombshell story hit.
When CNN finally covered the story they downplayed it, saying Clapper and other Obama-era officials handled it correctly. “Politics plays a huge role in why this is now a story,” senior justice correspondent Evan Perez told viewers.
After breathlessly covering the Trump-Russia collusion theory for years, CNN all but ignored Wednesday’s breaking news.
CNN did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The network’s slow-footed coverage is a stark contrast to its relentless pursuit of the story before Special Counsel Robert Mueller put the collusion theory to bed in April 2019. According to the Columbia Journalism Review, CNN devoted 26 percent of its total news coverage to the Trump-Russia collusion theory from Election Day in 2016 until April 19, 2019.
Projection: CNN’s @brianstelter Accuses Conservative Media of ‘Obsession’ With Russia Probe https://freebeacon.com/media/projection-cnns-stelter-accuses-conservative-media-of-obsession-with-russia-probe/ …
CNN’s in-house media pundit Brian Stelter talked about the Russian probe so many times that a montage of his comments about it recently went viral. The network’s national political reporter Maeve Reston even admitted on air that Russia was “all we talk about at CNN.”
Along the way, the Washington Post’s media critic Erik Wemple scrutinized CNN for both its reportage and its unwillingness to acknowledge problems with its coverage of the infamous Steele dossier.
After Mueller’s report was issued, CNN President Jeff Zucker defended his network, telling The New York Times he was “entirely comfortable” with their work and that they are “not investigators.”
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Trump’s reelection campaign even filed a libel lawsuit against CNN in March for publishing “false and defamatory” statements about seeking Russia’s help.
Wednesday’s unmasking documents came just a day after Biden told ABC News’ “Good Morning America” that he knew “nothing about those moves to investigate Michael Flynn,” and called the topic a “diversion” from the coronavirus pandemic.
Biden is the presumptive 2020 Democratic presidential nominee, so even if CNN gives the unmasking short shrift, critics say it’s telling that the network wouldn’t cover the fact that the documents contradict his recent comment.
“With James Clapper as one of many former Obama officials either on their payroll or serving as beloved guests, CNN has assumed the rhetorical fetal position with this declassification,” NewsBusters managing editor Curtis Houck told Fox News.
“CNN will try to either obfuscate its meaning, memory hole it, downplay it as above board, or continue bashing those raising questions as unconcerned about the coronavirus,” Houck added. “Thankfully, none of that will work because the American people are now armed with the facts. The Facts First network has embarrassed itself for years.”
“The Facts First network has embarrassed itself for years.” — Curtis Houck
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Clapper speculated on CNN in 2017 that Trump was a Russian “asset,” but the president recently implied he was in cahoots with the network all along.
“I understand Clapper, he gets a couple of bucks from CNN and Jeff Zucker and that den of thieves over there, they tell him at CNN and MSDNC, they tell him exactly what to say,” Trump said last week on “Fox & Friends.”
The unmasking concerns events between the November 2016 election and Inauguration Day 2017. Unmasking occurs after U.S. citizens’ conversations are incidentally picked up in conversations with foreign officials who are being monitored by the intelligence community.
The U.S. citizens’ identities are supposed to be protected if their participation is incidental and no wrongdoing is suspected. However, officials can determine the U.S. citizens’ names through a process that is supposed to safeguard their rights.
Critics noticed CNN’s delay in coverage and took to Twitter:
Nothing up on the #CNN web page about the contents of the just released unmasking of Gen Flynn – If you use them as your source you are ill informed or under informed. #FakeNews11
It’s been two hours since @CBS_Herridge broke the unmasking news. CNN can’t seem to find a place for it on their web site.
Not a peep on fake news CNN on the Flynn unmasking… I wonder why?16
@CNN front page not one word on #Unmasking PATHETIC @jaketapper @CNN @wolfblitzer
CNN is completely suppressing the news about unmasking. not even a by line on their web site. how disgusting. when are the american people going to wake up. this election in november should be a 48 or 49 state blowout. yet the MSM will continue to lie. it wont help too late baby2
notmisspopularity@ramirezexpressReplying to @CNN
@CNN is a pathetic “news” Chanel. Where is the story about the unmasking? Oh sorry, it does not fit your agenda.2
I bet CNN, NBC, ABC, & MSNBC will ignore this story for weeks.
From Fox News – Grenell releases list of officials who sought to ‘unmask’ Flynn: Biden, Comey, Obama intel chiefs among themhttps://www.foxnews.com/politics/grenell-releases-list-of-officials-who-sought-to-unmask-flynn-biden-comey-obama-intel-chiefs-among-them …1
You won’t hear this discussed on CNN or MSNBC, but former Vice President Biden sought to ‘unmask’ the identity of General Flynn in an effort to sabotage Trump’s team. https://twitter.com/CBS_Herridge/status/1260635872271228928 …
Catherine Herridge✔@CBS_HerridgeSCOOP @CBSNews obtains @RichardGrenell notification to congress declassified “unmasking list” Flynn between late 2016 and January 2017 – Read 3 pages provided by NSA here pic.twitter.com/NozVpQlRn21
.@CNN why no story on names being dropped to “unmask” @GenFlynn? I guess it doesn’t fit your agenda. #FakeNewsCNN #GenFlynn
Another big news day and #FakeNewsCNN @cnn does not have anything about Flynn or the unmasking report. What a pathetic, so called news organization. @FoxNews is crushing all of them. @CBSNews @NBCNews @ABC @MSNBC
This unmasking news broke this afternoon and @CNN won’t talk about anything but corona numbers.
Have they, and I missed the 2min segment?
Fox News’ Brooke Singman and David Spunt contributed to this report.
