The mainstream media and Democrats went absolutely bonkers last week after the Justice Department announced on Thursday that they were dropping the case against former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn.
Naturally, critics of the decision claimed that it was a political move and rushed to call for an investigation into the DOJ’s handling of the case.
On Sunday, NBC News “Meet the Press” host Chuck Todd had on a panel of guests to discuss the issue. During the segment, Todd referenced an interview DOJ Attorney General William Barr did with CBS News senior investigative correspondent Catherine Herridge last Thursday in which Herridge asked him how he felt history would judge the decision:
Herridge: In closing, this was a big decision in the Flynn case, to– to say the least. When history looks back on this decision, how do you think it will be written? What will it say about your decision making?Barr: Well, history is written by the winner. 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.
Keep Barr’s answer in mind as you read (and then watch) what Todd said to political commentator Peggy Noonan about Barr’s remarks:
CHUCK TODD: You brought up Bill Barr. Peggy Noonan, I want you to listen to this Bill Barr answer to a question about what will history say about this. Wait until you hear this answer. Take a listen.[BEGIN TAPE] HERRIDGE: When history looks back on this decision, how do you think it will be written?BARR: Well, history’s written by the winners. So it largely depends on who’s writing the history. [END TAPE]CHUCK TODD: I was struck, Peggy, by the cynicism of the answer. It’s a correct answer. But he’s the attorney general. He didn’t make the case that he was upholding the rule of law. He was almost admitting that, yeah, this is a political job.
Notice what he left out? This entire sentence from Barr: “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.”
A lot of conservatives noticed, including Daily Caller’s Greg Price, who put together a video contrasting Todd’s version of Barr’s remarks versus what Barr said in full. Watch below and pay special attention to Todd’s facial expressions. He looks like the cat who ate the canary. He’s really proud of himself here, and clearly believes he’s caught Barr in an admission that supposedly proves the media and Democrats were right about the alleged “political” nature of the decision all along:
Barr’s spokeswoman Kerri Kupec posted Todd’s comments and what Barr actually said next to each other. She characterized it as “deceptive editing/commentary,” which is putting it mildly:
Several hours after “Meet the Press” aired, Herridge herself tweeted out the interview segment, presumably to correct the record:
On Sunday evening, the “Meet the Press” Twitter account responded to Kupec’s tweet by making this claim:
It’s unclear whether Todd runs the account, or someone else. Todd has his own Twitter account, which he hasn’t tweeted from since May 5th as of this writing.
They “regret the error” so much that the only place you can find their admission is in reply to Kupec’s tweet. That reply only shows up on MTP’s “replies” link on their Twitter feed – which you actually have to click on to see. Also, I searched on the MTP website and could not find an acknowledgment of their “error” anywhere.
Fox News veteran journalist Brit Hume mentioned in a tweet the possibility the “error” was intentional:
I’m not inclined to believe this was an innocent mistake, especially when you consider the fact that Barr literally said what Todd said he didn’t say seconds after the comment about history being “written by the winners.”
Also, consider the fact that the Barr/Herridge interview happened three days before that episode of MTP. So Todd and his staff had plenty of time to watch/read the full interview. There’s just no reasonable excuse for why this happened. And at this point, even if Todd does go on air later this week issue a mea culpa, it will too late. The damage has already been done.
Which, come to think of it, was probably the whole point.
— Stacey Matthews has also written under the pseudonym “Sister Toldjah” and can be reached via Twitter. —
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