Thursday, May 30, 2024

In (D)esperation, Media Are Unable to Keep Legal Standards Straight - Now Amy Coney Barrett Is Targeted


Brad Slager reporting for RedState 

The Donald Trump Trial, the election, the polling, the economy – anywhere they look, the Democrats and the administration are struggling. As a result, the compliant media complex has been in scrambling mode, spinning or avoiding all negatives for President Biden and desperate to describe any calamitous effects should Trump regain power. This is leading to mounting examples of ridiculousness.

Currently, news outlets are uniquely focused on an impotent flag controversy involving Justice Samuel Alito, all while ignoring the abject fiasco of Biden snow-shoveling over $320 million for a floating pier in Gaza to deliver supplies – which became promptly stolen by Hamas – and then seeing it fall apart and sink inside of a fortnight. No wonder a pine tree flag is regarded as important.

As for the trial in New York, things have not gone well at all for the Dems. One star witness revealed on the stand that she talks to the dead and performed an exorcism to rid evil spirits from her boyfriend. The other proved to be not only a complete lying disaster but admitted to embezzling tens of thousands of dollars, confessing to a crime that greatly exceeded the one being tried. This has led to numerous conflicts in the press.

Trump was placed under a gag order by the judge, and the press was diligent in detailing any example that could be construed as him violating the order. This same press however was commanded by this same judge to refrain from exposing the personal details of the jury, and the journalists were incapable of following that simple and ethical order. 


A couple of weeks ago, House Speaker Mike Johnson showed up in Manhattan to express his concerns regarding the case, and the press behaved as if this was a novel attack on the entire legal system in this country. Katie Tur suggested the GOP members were on site to intimidate the jury; the fact that she and George Conway were among the many other names also in attendance was not considered to be influential. Brian Stelter took it further, suggesting it would be outlandish to see Democrats doing something like making these appearances.

Then, the Democrats promptly made an appearance at the courthouse. Members of the Joe Biden campaign brought along actor Robert De Niro (why???) and officers from the Capitol Police to invoke messaging about January 6. This had no bearing at all on this case, but it was intended to make an impact on a decision. There was not a single critical word about this appearance from the Associated Press, and Mr. Stelter never condemned this appearance — not that Biden supported a Democrat-inspired lawfare case, not that this was used for electioneering purposes, nor that Biden was possibly influencing a jury. 


Now, we get another dose of desperation leading to contradiction. During the trial, there was a furor over the revelation the judge presiding over the case, Judge Juan Merchan, has a daughter whose company was fundraising off of the trial for the Democrats. This had been noted as a possible conflict of interest, but the press reacted loudly about how this was inappropriate, both for any outlet to report and for Trump to repeat publicly. 

Now we see this is a very flexible standard, as Rolling Stone has come out with a hit piece on SCOTUS Justice Amy Coney Barrett. It turns out that (GASP!) her lawyer husband has done some representation for the Fox Corporation. The outlet does not explain why this is considered a problem or unethical, they just suggest that ACB did not reveal her husband’s business details in her disclosures, proving...something, we are left to guess. His case is not before her court, so any conflict of interest is not apparent.

This is what happens when stories are approached by who is involved, with the facts becoming secondary. Republicans show up at the court? Outlandish! Biden’s election team does the same thing? Cagey politics on their part

Anyone digging into the professional details of a judge’s family needs to be criticized for such an attack! If there is a conservative judge, however, their spouse and his career are fair game. That is regardless of the prior claims made…just weeks earlier.