The Media Research Center continued to melt down over the fact that Jeffrey Epstein is linked to Donald Trump and that this situation has been reported on. Curtis Houck complained about this fact in a Nov. 18 post:
Since a July 7 Justice Department memo declared an “exhaustive review” of the Jeffrey Epstein case found he died by suicide and there was no evidence of a “client list,” ABC, CBS, and NBC have treated the so-called “Epstein Files” as the new Russiagate, submerging President Trump with a stunning 821 minutes of coverage on ABC, CBS, and NBC.
A Media Research Center analysis examined all mentions of Epstein (and his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell) starting July 7 on ABC, CBS, and NBC across their flagship morning and evening newscasts and the Sunday political talk shows.
Through Tuesday morning, ABC accounted for roughly 358 minutes of the overall total, which was nearly double CBS at 187 minutes. In between, NBC clocked in at almost 276 minutes.
Note that Houck excluded Fox News from his biased analysis — possibly because it’s trying to bury the story. Houck then editorialized while playing the Biden card:
Leaving aside the fact they showed little interest in the Epstein case during the Biden administration, the networks have spent this week spotlighting a new ad featuring a number of Epstein victims, arguing they should not be ignored and deserve to see justice even though the main perpetrator is long dead.
And this push came following the history-making, 44-day-long government shutdown that brought havoc to the economy and ruin to millions. Despite that, the networks combined for 80 minutes and 25 seconds — the third highest total and largest since the last full week of July — on the week the shutdown came to an end.
Houck seems not to have considered the fact that people don’t trust the Trump Justice Department’s take on Epstein, especially given that it tried to redact Trump’s name from the Epstein files. Also note that Houck tried to build a conspiracy theory by claiming the resurgence of Epstein coincided with the end of the shutdown.
Mark Finkelstein groused the same day:
Is there a good personal injury lawyer in the house? Because anyone listening to Maria Cardona this morning might have suffered a bad case of whiplash.
In a neck-straining nanosecond on CNN This Morning, Cardona, a Democrat [sic] strategist who doubles as a CNN commentator, went from piously proclaiming that the Epstein matter “should be about the survivors, this shouldn’t be political,” and then straight to trying to pin all the blame on the Republicans.
After saying that “the problem has become political not because of Democrats,” Cardona proceeded to parrot the Democrat talking point that President Trump could have already released the files without the need for congressional action. Host Audie Cornish pitched in to second Cardona’s notion: “Right: it’s within his power.”
But Cornish and Cardona conveniently ignored the PSA put out by Epstein victims that the show aired just moments before. In addition to statements by several Epstein victims, the PSA displayed a screen with the stark message: “Five Administrations and We’re Still in the Dark.”
Finkelstein also played the Biden distraction card:
In other words, the entirety of the files has not been released over the course of five presidential administrations. The Trump administration has, in fact, already released tens of thousands of pages of Epstein files. That’s tens of thousands more than President Biden released — he didn’t release any files. No one in the pro-Biden media expressed any alarm. It was within Biden’s power too, Audie!
P.J. Gladnick whined:
There is only ONE sentence in Monday’s Jeffrey Epstein Politico story by Dasha Burns, “Congress wants to release all Epstein files. Trump worries that won’t be enough,” that is really relevant: “No evidence has suggested that Trump took part in Epstein’s crimes.”
The rest of the story is nothing but Epstein Slop i.e. utter nonsense and useless speculation whose sole purpose is to bury a highly inconvenient truth for Politico. Therefore let’s dig deep down into the middle of the article and observe that one gem that Burns seems to want to hide.
[…]And now we can amuse ourselves by looking at Burns’ pathetic attempt to bury that barely seen truth in a wall of Epstein Slop background noise starting with the subtitle: “Trump is also frustrated because he thinks Democrats outmaneuvered the GOP on the debate.”
This is a common Epstein Slop technique. Bury the fact that nothing in the Epstein files has implicated Trump in any wrongdoing with a lot of fuss over procedural maneuvers.
Ah, yes, “Esptein slop” — Jorge Bonilla would be proud. Gladnick conveniently fails to mention that Trump’s DOJ tried to redact Trump’s name from thefiles, so we don’t actually know for sure.
Houck cheered that Trump spewed his hate an an ABC reporter, in part for daring to ask about Epstein:
After years of playing the role of lead Biden regime apple polisher and undoubtedly being one of the most biased White House reporters, ABC chief White House correspondent Mary Bruce was excoriated Tuesday by President Trump over her questions about Trump family financials and the Epstein files as well as missives to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman about the country’s roles in both 9/11 and the murder of a pro-Qatar columnist Jamal Khashoggi.
Trump not only blasted Bruce as “a terrible person and terrible reporter” and “not credible,” but said ABC is “fake news” and “one of the worst in the business” that should lose their FCC license.
[…]Just over 20 minutes later, Bruce came back with the story she and her colleagues are using as a cudgel against Trump, hoping it ends his presidency: the Epstein files: “Mr. President, why wait for Congress to release the Epstein files? Why not just do it now?”
Trump fired back that while he didn’t mind “the question” itself, what he disliked was Bruce’s “attitude” and “the way you ask these questions.”
[…]Trump closed with another few zingers for Bruce and her “meanness” that are proof she needs “to go back and learn how to be a reporter”: “You’re not after the radical left because you’re a radical left network. But I think the way you ask a question with the anger and the meanness is terrible. You ought to go back and learn how to be a reporter. No more questions from you.”
Note that Trump didn’t answer the question about Epstein — and that Houck cares more about Trump’s “zingers” than factual accuracy.
The next day, Houck grumbled that people came to Bruce’s defense of Trump’s attack:
On Tuesday and Wednesday, the liberal media rushed to the defense of ABC chief White House correspondent and liberal tool Mary Bruce following President Trump’s extensive dressing down of her over questions about to him about the Epstein files and Trump family business dealings in Saudi Arabia and then to the Saudi crown prince about 9/11 and Jamal Khashoggi.
Unsurprisingly, ABC’s Good Morning America co-hosts Robin Roberts and George Stephanopoulos came to Bruce’s defense on Wednesday:
[…]Did Bruce just return from fighting Boko Horam? Why do liberal journalists treat asking tough questions of Republicans like the most dangerous and patriotic thing ever?
Our Jorge Bonilla hit the bullseye with this take about the adulation for Bruce: “Given the media’s outcry, you’d think Trump had Mary Bruce wiretapped or prosecuted under the Espionage Act.”
Leaving aside the content of Bruce’s questions, it was about time a Republican — anyone, really — tore this female Jim Acostif Trump hadn’t totallly lost it when a new one.
Why is Houck so concerned about the “content” of Bruce’s “tough questions” for Trump? He could have just answered the question instead of going on a sophomoric tirade — Houck doesn’t seem to have considered that. And Jorge, how doi we know that Trump has not wiretapped Bruce?