3 weeks ago
At first glance, it mightiness look like wrong baseball.
A bunch of erstwhile prosecutors and cablegram pundits talking to each different astir really overmuch they don’t for illustration Donald Trump and really he’s successful heavy ineligible trouble? Doesn’t that hap each time successful greenish rooms and nan area bar?
But this, arsenic disclosed by Politico, is different. These are immoderate of nan astir salient commentators successful nan media universe, and they look to beryllium consulting/coordinating/conspiring astir their main target.
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Even if that’s not nan case, it looks awful.
It plays into nan hands of conservatives who backmost Trump that nan media are portion of nan resistance, wished to bring him down astatine each costs.
They tin now opportunity that it is simply a cabal, confirming each their darkest suspicions astir nan property wished to bring him down.
Former president Donald Trump, center, awaits nan commencement of proceedings astatine Manhattan criminal court, Monday, April 22, 2024, successful New York. Opening statements successful Donald Trump's historical hush money proceedings are group to begin. Trump is accused of falsifying soul business records arsenic portion of an alleged strategy to hide stories he thought mightiness wounded his statesmanlike run successful 2016. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura, Pool)
Every Friday, these media hotshots subordinate successful a secret, off-the-record Zoom call.
In a high-road description, nan portion says nan extremity is to "intellectually stress-test nan arguments facing Trump connected his travel done nan American ineligible system." But a hit later it says, "most are agreed by their dislike of Trump."
The origins of nan group are telling, opening during nan Jan. 6 hearings, erstwhile committee staffers began briefing ineligible commentators connected their work. I tin deliberation of classified subject matters that haven’t remained concealed arsenic long.
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Who’s doing nan zooming? Norman Eisen, an Obama management official who worked pinch House Democrats connected Trump’s first impeachment and is simply a CNN ineligible analyst, is nan founder.
A group of ineligible commentators, agreed successful their dislike of Trump, person been gathering regularly to talk nan president's ineligible situation. (Center: (Photo by Brendan McDermid-Pool/Getty Images), Left:(Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images) , Right top: (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images), Right bottom: (Photo by Scott Strazzante/San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images))
He’s joined by Bill Kristol, a leader of nan anti-Trump conservatives; longtime Harvard rule professor Laurence Tribe; Watergate fig John Dean; and George Conway, ex-husband of Kellyanne, co-founder of nan Lincoln Project and a fixture connected MSNBC.
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That’s conscionable nan beginning. There is MSNBC expert Andrew Weissman, who investigated nan fruitless Russian collusion accusations against Trump arsenic a charismatic for Bob Mueller; why would anyone uncertainty his objectivity?
There are CNN ineligible analysts Jeffrey Toobin, Elliott Williams and Karen Agnifilo, on pinch L.A. Times columnist Harry Litman. And there’s Mary McCord, a erstwhile DOJ charismatic who co-hosts an MSNBC podcast.
Former President Donald Trump attends nan first time of his proceedings astatine Manhattan Criminal Court successful New York City connected April 15, 2024. (Angela Weiss/AFP via AP, POOL)
Sometimes location are guests, which is besides revealing. After Trump was held liable successful E. Jean Carroll’s first defamation and intersexual battle suit, her attorney, Roberta Kaplan, addressed nan group. And, says Politico, erstwhile blimpish judge J. Michael Luttig, who spearheaded a run to footwear Trump disconnected authorities ballots nether nan 14th Amendment, was different guest. The Supreme Court rejected nan anti-democratic move.
Despite efforts to rationalize this arsenic a meeting-of-great-minds exercise, I’m not buying it. Even Politico concedes nan calls could "breed groupthink" – what a shocking thought.
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And cablegram news drives plentifulness of different coverage, peculiarly erstwhile definite themes are perpetually pounded.
All these folks are smart capable to deliberation for themselves. Which makes it astonishing that they deficiency nan communal consciousness to spot really troubling nan Zooming looks.
Howard Kurtz is nan big of FOX News Channel's MediaBuzz (Sundays 11 a.m.-12 p.m. ET). Based successful Washington, D.C., he joined nan web successful July 2013 and regularly appears connected Special Report pinch Bret Baier and different programs.
