Chuck Todd Apologizes For Dishonest Meet the Press Edit of AG Bill Barr

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May 12, 2020

NBC operative Chuck Todd apologized for a dishonest edit of a Bill Barr interview the network presented on Sunday’s airing of Meet the Press, claiming that the program’s editors had only seen a briefer version of a clip that made Barr appear cavalier about the dismissal of process crime charges against Michael Flynn.

Meet the Press had presented a snippet of Barr’s remarks during a CBS News interview in which he discussed how the dismissal of charges against Flynn would be remembered. The mainstream media program quoted Barr as saying that “history is written by the winners,” and that “it largely depends on who’s writing the history.”

Todd went on to paint Barr’s reasoning as political and corrupt, failing to recognize that the broader answer Barr gave to the question was far more legally reasoned. Barr had actually pointed out that “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.”

Viewing Meet the Press’s presentation of the selective edit in comparison to a full viewing of Barr’s remarks on 60 Minutes shows just how dishonest and biased the network’s presentation of what he was saying is.

After a thorough public shaming, Todd was left with no choice but to admit the edit was dishonest. However, he claims that the Meet the Press editors responsible for clipping the quote didn’t see the broader answer, a dubious claim that raises questions about NBC’s journalistic work ethic at the very least. They couldn’t have put forth enough effort to watch Barr’s entire 15-second answer?

Watch Todd’s apology for dishonest, selective presentation of Barr’s remarks here:

Another shameful episode in the storied tradition of fake news at NBC.