| | | | Carl Bernstein talks "cover up" | | With minute-by-minute developments about President Trump, Michael Flynn, Russian contacts, intelligence community concerns, congressional demands and a battery of headlines like "WHITE HOUSE IN CRISIS," it's difficult to zoom out... way out... and see the whole picture. But let's give it a try... courtesy of Carl Bernstein, who said this on Brooke Baldwin's show Wednesday afternoon:
Trump has been "telling lies about many of these things under discussion. There has been a real attempt to stonewall the press, to stonewall the FBI, to stonewall congressional investigators. That's what we know so far... Where this goes and the seriousness of it, we don't know... What we DO know is that there are very serious allegations out there..."
Bernstein added: "In this instance what we are finding out is that there appears to be some attempt, somewhere, to cover up what has occurred, and we are trying to penetrate that cover-up..." | | Bill O'Reilly to Bob Woodward on the "Factor" Wednesday night: "If I were you, I would sue anyone saying 'this is Watergate.' If I were you, Woodward, I'd sue them! They have nothing to back it up, it's all crazy speculation, and that's what we're getting into in this country, nobody knows the facts! Nobody knows anything! It's all speculation."
Woodward: "There IS a lot of speculation and a lot of nonsense, so let's get the facts..." | | Trump is questioning the motivations of the leakers; alleging that the "intelligence community" is behind it; and accusing the "fake news media" of "going crazy." But he's not refuting the accuracy of the reporting. Instead, he's trying to reframe the story, making it about the "criminal act" of leaking instead of the contents of the leaks.
Quoting CNN's Jeffrey Toobin: "Some of these leaks are undoubtedly illegal, that do include classified information, but all great investigative reporting has included information that people are not supposed to disclose... This mix of legal and illegal leaking is a real thing, but our democracy DOES depend on it." Here's my full story about the leak intrigue...
-- Related video/story: Tapper calls out Trump on conspiracy theories... | | | "We request that your office begin an immediate investigation into whether classified information was mishandled here," key Republican lawmakers Jason Chaffetz and Bob Goodlatte wrote to the Justice Department's Inspector General on Wednesday night... | | "There is this sense of urgency and energy that I feel now that reminds me of being 29 and in a very different situation: in the middle of a revolutionary situation in Russia. I'm not saying it's a revolution now. But there is this uncertainty about what is happening minute to minute, day to day."
--New Yorker editor David Remnick, quoted in this NYT story about journalists feeling a "renewed sense of mission..." | | | Media editor Alex Koppelman emails: Flynn is no longer the national security adviser in large part because of the WashPost's reporting that he had misled VP Mike Pence. Andy Puzder won't be labor secretary in large part due to reporting, including Politico's obtaining of a tape of Puzder's ex-wife's appearance on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" in which she alleged that he'd abused her (allegations he denies, and which she later dropped). A Congress that was resisting calls for investigations into Trump-Russia connections is sounding more and more open to them thanks in no small measure to reporting by outlets including CNN, the NYT and the Post. Trump's team and allies may see this as further evidence that the press is the "opposition party;" in fact it's proof that reporters are still doing their job, holding the powerful accountable... | | | Shout out to 25-year-old Politico reporter Marianne LeVine... Editor Carrie Budoff Brown praised LeVine's "dogged, creative, relentless, shoe leather reporting" in a memo on Wednesday... And colleague Michael Schwab, who sits near her, says LeVine "was on the phone everyday for months trying to find this tape." Check out LeVine's account of how it happened... | | Trump snubbing the front row, calling on conservative outlets instead... | | That's what CNN's Jim Acosta said right after Trump's lunchtime press conference with Benjamin Netanyahu. Trump called on journalists from the Christian Broadcasting Network and TownHall.com. "This White House, this president, does not want to answer questions, critical questions, about his associates, his aides' contacts with the Russians," Acosta said after trying to shout a question to POTUS about it...
-- NYT's Michael Grynbaum tweets the scorecard: "As President, Trump has called on Daily Caller, Townhall, CBN, Fox News, Fox Business, Reuters, New York Post, Sinclair..."
-- Former Obama aide Dan Pfeiffer's reaction: "This is how Authoritarianism starts..." | | "Open anger" in the press corps | | On ABC, Cecilia Vega said there was an "open sense of anger and frustration" among reporters at the press conference -- "open anger in here about the fact the president did not take any real questions about the issue of the day." Her colleague Jon Karl called it "astounding."
-- Reaction from the right: NewsBusters says the ABCers were "whining..."
-- IJR's Joe Perticone tweets: "I raised my hand in the front row of Pelosi's press conference the whole time this morning and wasn't called on. This s--- goes both ways..."
-- Sean Spicer's next briefing: 1:30pm Thursday... | | "The opposition party, all lined up" | | | When Sean Hannity saw this Mediaite story, he wrote, "Omg best story ever. Haha Go Bannon." Why? Because, according to CNN's Kevin Liptak, Steve Bannon walked past a group of reporters outside Spicer's office and called them "the opposition party, all lined up..." | | Dylan Byers' must-read about @PressSec | | Dylan Byers emails about his deep dive piece for CNNPolitics: The prevailing wisdom is that the combative press secretary is not long for his office... But the most senior members of Trump's staff say the rumors are wrong. Steve Bannon: "It's totally and completely false." Reince Priebus: "The President has full confidence in Sean."
-- Byers makes this point in the profile: Spicer is a fighter... So long as Spicer has Trump's support, the rest is noise... | | Conway trying to undermine Spicer? | | | More from Dylan: Many people sympathetic to Spicer in and out of the White House believe Kellyanne Conway is trying to throw Spicer under the bus to offload blame for administration setbacks... "She's clearly guiding a press narrative that he's not up for the job, and that they're reviewing other candidates," one GOP strategist said. "It's becoming abundantly clear that Kellyanne is making Sean's job impossible." Conway categorically denied that she was behind any leaks about Spicer... Read much more here... | | Newsy details from the profile | | -- When asked if he had any interest in repairing the W.H.-press relationship, Bannon replied: "I could care less..."
-- The only things on Spicer's shelves: a framed picture of himself at the podium, a book on Naval Special Warfare (he's in the Reserve), and a Super Soaker commemorating the infamous "SNL" skit...
-- In December, when Spicer's father died, the president-elect was one of the first people to call him. The very next day, Spicer was back in the office. "There's a loyalty there," one source said... | | -- Two journalists "were shot and killed Tuesday while hosting their radio program in San Pedro de Macoris in the Dominican Republic..." (CNN)
-- Jeremy Scahill has pulled out of an appearance on Bill Maher's show over a scheduled interview with Milo Yiannopoulos... (Mediaite)
-- Former Newsday editor John Mancini, who was most recently at NBC, "will be joining Quartz in New York on Feb. 28 as our new global news editor," per internal memo... | | Venezuela forces CNN En Español off the air | | Last week: CNN and CNN en Español released a year-long investigation, "Passports in the Shadows," about "serious irregularities in the issuing of Venezuelan passports and visas, including allegations that passports were given to people with ties to terrorism."
Sunday: Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro said he wanted CNN out of the country.
Wednesday: Maduro's government "ordered cable providers to take CNN en Español off the air."
CNN responded in a statement: "CNN en Español will continue to fulfill its responsibility to the Venezuelan public by offering our live signal on YouTube free of charge and news links on CNNEspanol.com..." | | "Feds probe Murdoch channel" | | | The New York Daily News (the main rival to Murdoch's NY Post tabloid) is splashing this story across its cover on Thursday... | | What the Justice Department is investigating | | | Dylan Byers confirms: "The U.S. Justice Department is investigating whether Fox News failed to inform shareholders about settlements made with employees who charged former chairman and CEO Roger Ailes with sexual harassment, a source with knowledge of the matter told CNNMoney. The investigation, which has been going on for months, came to light on Wednesday after attorney Judd Burstein, who represents clients who have brought sexual harassment charges against Ailes, announced in a court hearing that one of his clients had received a subpoena relating to 'alleged violations of criminal law by Fox...'" | | | "The settlements in question date back several years," according to Byers' source. One of Burstein's clients is Brian Lewis, who was the head of Fox News PR until Ailes fired him in 2013... | | Fox's statement: "We have been in communication with the U.S. Attorney's office for months" | | | From a Fox spokeswoman: "The court granted FOX News' motion to send Andrea Tantaros' case to arbitration, where it always belonged, and rejected her counsel Judd Burstein's histrionics. Apparently one of Mr. Burstein's other clients has received a subpoena. Neither FOX News nor 21CF has received a subpoena, but we have been in communication with the U.S. Attorney's office for months — we have and will continue to cooperate on all inquiries with any interested authorities." | | Time Warner shareholders vote to approve AT&T merger | | | Tom Kludt reports: Time Warner shareholders cast a resounding vote on Wednesday in support of the AT&T deal. "The adoption of the merger agreement by our shareholders keeps us on track, pending regulatory consents or reviews, to close the transaction before year-end 2017," TWX CEO Jeff Bewkes said... | | Thursday on the "Reliable Sources" Livecast... | | | THR's Marisa Guthrie! We'll talk about the wild week of news-about-the-news, from the leadership changes at NBC News to the canning of Josh Elliott at CBS... Live on the CNN.com home page at 11:15am... | | Another kind of leaks: anti-Priebus leaks | | | Trump chief of staff Reince Priebus "has been the target of a string of recent leaks suggesting that he is responsible for the White House's missteps," Tom Kludt reports. "Much of that criticism appears to be coming from individuals more devoted to Trumpism than to the Republican Party." For example: Infowars is calling Priebus the "Chief Leaker in the White House." Read more... | | Steve Bannon's former web site, Breitbart, also posted a story this week suggesting that Priebus might be on the way out. Hmmmm. Bannon reacted by telling CNN's Dana Bash that he was "livid" about the "totally untrue" story...
More: When asked if he had spoken with Breitbart prior to the story's publication, Bannon said he had "totally cut ties" and hadn't talked to them since leaving the organization last August. (For the record, that's not true, since Bannon has called into the site's "Breitbart News Daily" radio show multiple times...) | | Trump not filling out a March Madness bracket for ESPN | | | "ESPN minted a March Madness tradition under President Obama that is apparently coming to an end in the Trump era," CNNMoney's Jackie Wattles reports. "The network said in a statement Wednesday that it asked President Trump to fill out brackets for the men's and women's NCAA basketball tournaments -- but the White House 'respectfully declined' the offer." Why? No comment from the W.H... | | | -- Derek Thompson tweets: "I don't get the president's obsession w popularity, coupled with an aversion to the most trivial steps toward expanding his appeal..." | | Carlson/Wemple, the day after | | | Brian Lowry emails: Erik Wemple's piece about his Tuesday night appearance on Tucker Carlson's show is instructive, especially in terms of exposing how the sausage gets made. But the larger point is one that mainstream news outlets should be savvier about — namely, does it make sense to go on a program like Carlson's, which is as much performance art as news? Carlson doesn't bring someone like Wemple on to exchange ideas, but rather as a prop. While the Washington Post and other publications obviously like seeing their reporters on TV, there are venues and situations where discretion is the better part of valor... | | | Recording Academy president addresses Adele-Beyonce controversy | | | Lisa France emails: There may still be debate about Adele taking the album of the year Grammy over Beyonce, but Recording Academy President Neil Portnow said his organization does not have a "race problem." Read more... | | Lowry reviews "The Good Fight" | | Brian Lowry writes: CBS All Access – the network's subscription streaming service – is betting heavily on established properties. Yet while its delayed plans for a "Star Trek" series will probably be the best test of its viability, from a creative standpoint the venture gets off to a pretty good start with "The Good Fight," a spinoff of "The Good Wife," except with more pay-cable-like expletives.
Read Lowry's full review here... | | CBS seeking to renew "The Big Bang Theory" for two more seasons | | | More from Brian Lowry: Trade reports that CBS is negotiating a two-year renewal on "The Big Bang Theory" make sense, even if keeping TV's top-rated comedy comes at a steep price. But such a deal also underscores the pressure the network faces to develop another sitcom hit to capitalize on that program's sizable lead-in, before it inevitably goes supernova and leaves a giant black hole in its Thursday lineup... | | -- Via Lisa France: He went from a perp walk to the runway. Jeremy Meeks, whose mug shot went viral and earned him the "Hot Felon" moniker, debuted at NYFW...
-- ICYMI: Kate Upton is your 2017 "Sports Illustrated" swimsuit issue covergirl. But it's not just one cover, she's on three, Chloe Melas writes...
-- BTW: Tune into CNNMoney's Facebook page Thursday at 9am... Chloe will be talking to the swimsuit issue's editor, MJ Day, and Olympian Aly Raisman, who posed for the mag... | | | What do you like about this newsletter? What do you dislike? Send your feedback to reliablesources@cnn.com. We appreciate every email. See you tomorrow... | |  | | We'd love to share our other newsletters with you. Check out Five Things for Your New Day, CNN's morning newsletter. Give us five minutes, and we'll brief you on all the news and buzz people will be talking about. | | | Get Reliable Sources, a comprehensive summary of the most important media news, delivered to your inbox every afternoon. | | | | | |
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