June 6, 2017

Fox host Jon Scott, apparently desperate to give cred to the White House complaint that the media is paying too much attention to the Russia investigation, and not enough to Donald Trump’s accomplishments, came up with the FNC all-purpose GOP talking point: Benghazi!

As Fox waited for an announcement about Trump’s plan to privatize air traffic controllers, the Happening Now show discussed the White House complaint. That was the same subject raised yesterday in Howard Kurtz’ lapdog interview with Corey Lewandowski but Scott’s two guests were no Trump lapdogs.

Scott began by asking if the Russia and James Comey (the former director of the FBI, fired by Trump) investigations are “sucking all of the oxygen out of the room?”

Franco Ordoñez, of McClatchy, pushed back. He said Comey and Russia are “issues that just can’t be ignored” but he also said McClatchy has plenty of resources covering other issues.

So Scott asked his other guest, Fox News contributor Judith Miller, the same question.

Miller quickly dismissed the accusation. She said the Russia coverage competes “with Donald Trump’s own tweets” and his “apparent efforts to undermine his own administration and agenda.” She cited White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer’s claim that the Muslim ban is not a travel ban, only to have Trump later tweet that “he wants his travel ban and he doesn’t even like the watered down one that Jeff Sessions, his attorney general, is proposing.” Laughing, she asked, “What are we supposed to do? Are we not supposed to cover that?”

Later, Scott went back to her on that point, this time suggesting that Benghazi was not investigated as thoroughly as Russia. Fortunately, Miller found this even more ridiculous.

SCOTT: Judy, conservatives or fans of the president say if the same amount of media energy had been put into investigating what happened in Benghazi, for instance, there would have been all kinds of negative headlines of the Obama administration that ultimately were not there.

Do you agree?

MILLER (laughing): Oh, my gosh, John. I mean, poor Trey Gowdy and his endless investigation and all of the hearings and Hillary Clinton’s hours and hours of testimony and a story that went on and on and on and ultimately produced nothing. No! I don’t think these are comparable situations at all!

Watch the latest effort to deflect from the Russia investigation above, from the June 5, 2017 Happening Now.

Originally published at Newshounds.us

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