Trump wants Chuck Todd fired after 'Meet The Press' admits to inaccurately editing clip of William Barr's remarks
America’s political circles have become deeply polarized over the latest developments on Michael Flynn, the former national security adviser (NSA) to President Donald Trump. While Trump and his allies have welcomed the decision taken by the justice department to drop charges against the former army personnel, the Democrats have slammed the decision and accused Attorney General William Barr of doing Trump’s ‘political bidding’. Even former President Barack Obama has found himself at the center of the controversy with Flynn’s attorney accusing him of being a part of the plot to frame the former NSA.
Trump on Sunday, May 10, lashed out at NBC News anchor Chuck Todd after his program, ‘Meet The Press’, admitted to ‘inadvertently cutting short’ a sound bite from Barr when he was responding to a question about the charges against Flynn. In a tweet, the president called Todd ‘sleepy eyes’ and said he should be fired for the ‘fraud’. Trump alleged that Todd did it purposefully and reiterated his accusation of ‘fake news’.
Earlier, the justice department criticized the Sunday morning news program for editing the clip. NBC later apologized in the evening saying the clip Todd played was ‘inadvertently and inaccurately cut short’.
The controversial clip showed CBS reporter Catherine Herridge asking the attorney general how history might see his move to drop the charges against Flynn, Trump’s first NSA, who lasted less than a month in office and stepped down in February 2017 amid a flow of intelligence leaks, saying he secretly spoke over sanctions with then Russian ambassador to the US and then tried to hide the talks.
“Well, history's written by the winners. So it largely depends on who's writing the history,” Barr, 69, responded.
Barr actually said the decision upheld rule of law
Todd then added that he was surprised by the ‘cynicism of the answer’. He said Barr was not speaking in favor of upholding the rule of law and almost admitted that it is a political job. However, an extended clip which was aired in full by CBS News showed Barr actually justifying his actions by saying more than just ‘history is written by the winners’.
“Well, history is written by the winners. So it largely depends on who's writing the history. But I think a fair history would say that it was a good decision because it upheld the rule of law. It helped, it upheld the standards of the Department of Justice, and it undid what was an injustice,” he actually said.
Kerri Kupec, a justice department spokesperson, tweeted both the CBS and NBC’s Meet The Press transcripts and tweeted, saying she was disappointed with Todd’s ‘deceptive editing/commentary’. “Not only did the AG make the case in the VERY answer Chuck says he didn't, he also did so multiple times throughout the interview,” she further said in her tweet.
The Twitter handle of ‘Meet The Press’ later regretted the error and admitted that to Kupec in a replying tweet that she was right.