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By Scott Whitlock
ABC and CBS on Wednesday went into full panic mode on Wednesday, seeing Donald Trump’s firing of FBI Director James Comey as a crisis comparable to Richard Nixon during the darkest days of Watergate. With dramatic music, Good Morning America co-host George Stephanopoulos parroted, “Now, calls for a special prosecutor to take over the Russia investigation. Democrats compare this to Watergate.”
Co-host Robin Roberts turned to liberal journalist Cokie Roberts to push this hyperbolic narrative: “As our resident historian, put this into context for us. Because some are comparing it to Watergate.” Of course, she agreed, declaring, “Well, that's understandable that people are comparing it to Watergate because, of course, what happened there is that President Nixon fired the special prosecutor because he was getting too close.”
Well, case closed. They must be the same thing.
 Over on CBS This Morning, Norah O’Donnell repeated the Democratic talking point: “Some congressional Democrats compared President Trump to Richard Nixon who ordered the firing of the Watergate scandal's independent prosecutor.”
Nancy Cordes uncritically pushed this point: “Democrats savaged the President's decision, calling it Nixonian, mind-boggling and a cover-up.”
Surprisingly, NBC on Tuesday and Wednesday avoided immediately jumping to this comparison.
Partial transcripts are below:
Good Morning America
5/10/17
7am
 STEPHANOPOULOS: Fired. Breaking new details on FBI Director James Comey terminated by president Trump with this letter. Comey was leading the investigation over Trump's campaign and Russia. The President's team speaks out overnight.
SARAH HUCKABEE SANDERS: When are they going to let that go? It's been going on for nearly a year. Frankly, it's kind of getting absurd. There is nothing there.
ROBIN ROBERTS: Democrats claiming a cover-up.
CHUCK SCHUMER: Mr. President, with all due respect, you are making a big mistake.
ROBERTS: And even top Republicans question Trump's decision. The FBI director completely caught off guard, fired for how he handled Hillary Clinton's e-mail investigation. Comey defending those actions just a week ago.
JAMES COMEY: Tell me what you would do. It makes me mildly nauseous to think we might have had some impact on the election.
STEPHANOPOULOS: Now, calls for a special prosecutor to take over the Russia investigation. Democrats compare this to Watergate as President Trump prepares to nominate a new FBI director and meets with the Russian foreign minister this morning. Our entire team is breaking it down, a special edition of GMA.
...
7:10
ROBIN ROBERTS: In some ways uncharted territory and, Cokie, as our resident historian, put this into context for us. Because some are comparing it to Watergate.
COKIE ROBERTS: Well, that's understandable that people are comparing it to Watergate because, of course, what happened there is that President Nixon fired the special prosecutor because he was getting too close. And here we have the President firing the head of the FBI. And the President's people saying it's time to shut down this very important investigation as to whether the Kremlin interfered in our election. And so this is something that is going to resonate in Washington for a long time to come.
 CBS This Morning5/10/17 7:10
NORAH O'DONNELL: Some congressional Democrats compared President Trump to Richard Nixon who ordered the firing of the Watergate scandal's independent prosecutor. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer talked to the President on the phone. Schumer said he told the president he was making a big mistake.
NANCY CORDES: Democrats savaged the President's decision, calling it Nixonian, mind-boggling and a cover-up.
...
GAYLE KING: Other Democrats call the decision Nixonian, referring to President Nixon's decision to dismiss the Watergate special prosecutor in 1973. Well, Team Nixon seems to disagree with that. The Nixon Presidential Library said on Twitter last night, "President Nixon never fired the Director of the FBI."
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By Kyle Drennen
Appearing on NBC’s Today Wednesday morning, left-wing MSNBC legal correspondent Ari Melber hurled an accusation, without evidence, that the Department of Justice was lying about the reasoning behind the firing of FBI Director James Comey. Starting off a panel discussion, co-host Savannah Guthrie wondered: “...on the bombshell meter, where does this rate?” Melber proclaimed: “This is huge. The letter doesn’t sound true from the DOJ because it’s not true.”
Melber was referring to a memorandum from Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein providing a detailed, point-by-point recommendation on why Comey should be removed. The NBC analyst dismissed the letter, providing this juvenile summary of its contents: “...the letter, though, from this DOJ under Donald Trump says the main problem was that the approach by Director Comey was essentially too mean to Hillary Clinton. That is at odds with everything the candidate said.”
He made that declaration in response to Guthrie actually pressing him on the topic: “Why is it not a reasonable rationale that he is unhappy with the way Comey handled the Hillary Clinton e-mail investigation, something that many career prosecutors and many Democrats also found fault with?” In fact, just six months ago, all three networks were slamming Comey for his handling of the Hillary Clinton e-mail investigation.
Fellow co-host Matt Lauer then read from President Trump’s letter informing Comey that he had been fired: “Here’s the paragraph: ‘While I greatly appreciate you informing me on three separate occasions that I'm not under investigation, I nevertheless concur with the judgment of the Department of Justice that you’re not able to effectively lead the Bureau.’ What does that paragraph mean?”
Political analyst and newly-named MSNBC host Nicolle Wallace was in full panic mode as she ranted against Trump’s decision:
It means that no one has successfully reigned in Donald Trump from his impulses to carry on as though he were still the anchor of The Apprentice. I mean, this penchant for firing people who defy his will....When people refuse to sort of fall into line, and this is what should send a chill and this is what should wake up every Republican who thinks that it’s okay to go along.
As supposed proof of the seriousness of development, she argued: “The fact that Democrats are James Comey's defenders this morning, most Democrats believe that we have a President trump because of James Comey’s handling of the e-mails.” It was completely lost on her that Democrats were engaging in rank hypocrisy by suddenly rushing to Comey’s defense after blasting him mere months ago.
Seizing on Trump’s letter to Comey, Guthrie proclaimed: “...on the one hand the White House is saying, ‘This is all about the Hillary Clinton e-mail investigation.’ And Trump’s own letter betrays the fact that it is, in fact, about Russia. That that is at top of mind.”
Suggesting the administration was trying to cover up the Russia investigation, Wallace promised the media focus would intensify: “...the fact that they thought that they could turn the page on Russia by removing the head of the FBI while the FBI is investigating Russia simply guarantees that was once a cleg light focus will now be a burning focus.”
Melber chimed back in by wildly speculating that the President had opened himself up to “criminal liability”: “...the President has made an admission of a stunning level in that letter....the DOJ is trying to create neutral reasons that have nothing to do with Russia. And Donald Trump, in writing that sentence that he clearly couldn’t hold back on, is raising his own potential criminal liability.” He never bothered to explain what “crime” Trump was supposed to have committed.
Wallace demanded: “If you care about getting to the bottom of the questions about Russian meddling in 2016....And if you care about having a truly nonpolitical FBI director, you must now have an FBI director that promises to get to the bottom of that investigation between Trump’s orbit and Russia.”
Lauer concluded: “And you must now have a special pros – an independent counsel.” Wallace agreed: “I don’t know how you avoid it.”
Here is a full transcript of the completely one-sided panel discussion on May 10:
7:10 AM ET
SAVANNAH GUTHRIE: Let’s bring in Nicolle Wallace and Ari Melber. Guys, good morning. I mean, just the first – a quickie on the bombshell meter, where does this rate?
 ARI MELBER: This is huge. The letter doesn’t sound true from the DOJ because it’s not true.
GUTHRIE: Well, let’s be – let’s be the devil’s advocate here. Because I think a lot of people will want to give the President the benefit of the doubt. Why is it not a reasonable rationale that he is unhappy with the way Comey handled the Hillary Clinton e-mail investigation, something that many career prosecutors and many Democrats also found fault with? What’s the rationale?
MELBER: There were procedural problems with the way Director Comey handled the investigation, the letter, though, from this DOJ under Donald Trump says the main problem was that the approach by Director Comey was essentially too mean to Hillary Clinton. That is at odds with everything the candidate said. It’s also at odds with what now Attorney General Jeff Sessions said at the time.
LAUER: And by the way, Nicolle, if you want to fire James Comey over the Hillary Clinton e-mail investigation, you could do it on day one as president. You don’t have to wait five months. Let me read you, though, a portion of the letter that President Trump wrote to Director Comey. Here’s the paragraph: “While I greatly appreciate you informing me on three separate occasions that I'm not under investigation, I nevertheless concur with the judgment of the Department of Justice that you’re not able to effectively lead the Bureau.” What does that paragraph mean?
NICOLLE WALLACE: It means that no one has successfully reigned in Donald Trump from his impulses to carry on as though he were still the anchor of The Apprentice. I mean, this penchant for firing people who defy his will. You saw this play out at the beginning of the week, where Sally Yates was ostensibly fired for refusing to enforce the Muslim ban. Nobody believes that’s actually all that was going on, to borrow a phrase from Donald Trump. When people refuse to sort of fall into line, and this is what should send a chill and this is what should wake up every Republican who thinks that it’s okay to go along. The fact that Democrats are James Comey's defenders this morning, most Democrats believe that we have a President trump because of James Comey’s handling of the e-mails.
GUTHRIE: It’s so interesting, though, to see the part that Matt just read. Because on the one hand the White House is saying, “This is all about the Hillary Clinton e-mail investigation.” And Trump’s own letter betrays the fact that it is, in fact, about Russia. That that is at top of mind.
WALLACE: We can give them the benefit of the doubt, we should always play the devil’s advocate, but the fact that they thought that they could turn the page on Russia by removing the head of the FBI while the FBI is investigating Russia simply guarantees that was once a cleg light focus will now be a burning focus.
MELBER: And just briefly, the President has made an admission of a stunning level in that letter that you’re both pointing to. Because the DOJ is trying to create neutral reasons that have nothing to do with Russia. And Donald Trump, in writing that sentence that he clearly couldn’t hold back on, is raising his own potential criminal liability. He essentially inserted himself and Russia into what they claim was a neutral policy decision.
GUTHRIE: From a communications perspective – and I think you just laid it out – I mean, if you wanted to draw attention to Russia, this seems like exactly what you would do, fire the guy investigating you for Russia.
WALLACE: What they have done is now everyone has to choose. If you care about getting to the bottom of the questions about Russian meddling in 2016, which we know Lindsey Graham and John McCain have said they care about. And if you care about having a truly nonpolitical FBI director, you must now have an FBI director that promises to get to the bottom of that investigation between Trump’s orbit and Russia.
LAUER: And you must now have a special pros – an independent counsel.
WALLACE: I don’t know how you avoid it.
LAUER: Yeah.
GUTHRIE: Ari, Nicolle, interesting. Nicolle, you’re going to have more on this. Good time to have a new show, which you do. It’s called Deadline White House, it’s on MSNBC. Catch it weekdays at 4 p.m. Eastern.
And by the way, we’re going to hear directly from President Trump on this dismissal and a lot more tomorrow, as he will be sitting down with NBC’s Lester Holt. An exclusive interview. This is his first since this firing. It starts airing tomorrow on Nightly News. Of course Friday morning right here on Today.
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By Nicholas Fondacaro
 The Big Three Network news outlets (ABC, CBS, and NBC) were caught off guard by President Donald Trump’s firing of FBI Director James Comey shortly before they went live Tuesday evening. All three ran very long, multi-segment reports on the shocking development. But ABC was the only network to dedicate an entire report to the reaction from members of Hillary Clinton’s failed presidential campaign. And on top of that, they dedicated a segment to partisan speculation from Congressional Democrats.
“Let’s bring in Cecilia Vega who covered the Clinton campaign for us,” announced Anchor David Muir at the start of the segment on World News Tonight. He went on a rambling retelling of the events just a few days before the election involving the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s e-mails.
Muir played a clip of Clinton recently claiming that “I was on the way to winning, until a combination of Jim Comey's letter on October 28th and Russian WikiLeaks raised doubts in the minds of people who were inclined to vote for me but got scared off.”
The story was handed off to White House Correspondent Cecilia Vega, who said she just spoke on the phone with her contact in Clinton’s orbit. “And surprisingly perhaps they are not necessarily applauding this move. The concern right now among people close to Clinton is that perhaps this move is related to the FBI's investigation into Russia, into President Trump and not so much related to the past,” she told Muir.
“It is a resounding sense of anger right now and worry among people close to Clinton. They're online tweeting about it,” she explained. “Her former campaign manager Robby Mook says, ‘This terrifies me.’ Her Spokesman says, ‘I wonder if we'll get to bottom of Russia right now.’”
Vega elaborated, saying that their concern was the future of the investigation into Russia’s meddling in the election and possible collusion with the Trump campaign.
Muir then looked to Mary Bruce, who gave voice to partisan assertions from Congressional Democrats. She reported that:
Democrats are already raising red flags. Many questioning if Comey was fired because the White House feared he could possibly get to the bottom of any potential Russia connection. One top Democrat tonight says Senator Chris Van Hollen said, quote, “firing Comey has the foul stench of an attempt to stop an ongoing investigation.” Some Democrats tonight, David, say this move simply underscores their call for a special prosecutor to lead the Russia investigation.
On CBS Evening News, Anchor Scott Pelley noted a few times that Comey was fired despite having a reputation for having a lot of “integrity.” That’s a complete 180-degree turn for the network since back in October of 2016 they railed against him for reopening the Clinton e-mail investigation.
Transcript below:
ABC
World News Tonight
May 9, 2017
6:37:05 PM Eastern
DAVID MUIR: Let’s bring in Cecilia Vega who covered the Clinton campaign for us. And Cecilia, we all remember that moment in Iowa. The plane had landed, the Clinton campaign onboard. They had bad Wi-Fi, so it was reported at the time that they learned upon landing that the e-mail investigation had been reopened, 11 days before the election. Comey then revealing nothing had been found in that investigation but said he had to make that public anyway. Let's listen to what Hillary Clinton said just within the last week. I want to get your reaction here on the backside.
HILLARY CLINTON: I was on the way to winning, until a combination of Jim Comey's letter on October 28th and Russian WikiLeaks raised doubts in the minds of people who were inclined to vote for me but got scared off.
MUIR: She said that and it made news immediately. She was on the way to winning before James Comey made that announcement 11 days before the election Cecilia.
CECILIA VEGA: Yeah she said that she in fact probably would have been president today had that letter not come out 11 days before the election, David.
But look, I just got off the phone with sources close to Hillary Clinton and surprisingly perhaps they are not necessarily applauding this move. The concern right now among people close to Clinton is that perhaps this move is related to the FBI's investigation into Russia, into President Trump and not so much related to the past; that long history you just mentioned between James Comey and Hillary Clinton. It is a resounding sense of anger right now and worry among people close to Clinton. They're online tweeting about it. Her former campaign manager Robby Mook says, “this terrifies me.” Her Spokesman says, “I wonder if we'll get to bottom of Russia right now.”
But David, the reaction is clear. This is very much a concern from inside Clinton world about what's happening with that investigation into Russia.
MUIR: Into Russia. All right Cecilia, thank you. Quick check in with Mary Bruce, live on Capitol Hill tonight. Mary, were members of Congress as surprised as perhaps the rest of the country with this announcement late today.
MARY BRUCE: David, swift reaction coming in from both sides of the isle this evening. Leading Republicans like Senator Lindsey Graham say that this move is “a sign a fresh start may serve the nation well.” While Democrats are already raising red flags. Many questioning if Comey was fired because the White House feared he could possibly get to the bottom of any potential Russia connection. One top Democrat tonight says Senator Chris Van Hollen said, quote, “firing Comey has the foul stench of an attempt to stop an ongoing investigation.” Some Democrats tonight, David, say this move simply underscores their call for a special prosecutor to lead the Russia investigation.
…
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By Nicholas Fondacaro
 Washington, DC was rocked Tuesdayevening when news broke that President Donald Trump had fired FBI Director James Comey. According to a memorandum from Deputy Attorney General Rob Rosenstein, Comey was recommended to be fired for going over the head of Attorney General Loretta Lynch on July 5, 2016, and holding a press conference about Hillary Clinton’s e-mail investigation. But according to CNN’s Senior Legal Analyst Jeffrey Toobin, the FBI director was fired because he was hot on Trump’s trail.
“The FBI is running an investigation of Donald Trump's campaign and Russia and apparently it’s getting too close for comfort,” he angrily yelled. “That the only rational conclusion that you can draw from this firing.”
At the top of the 6 o’clock hour, Toobin told Wolf Blitzer that Comey’s firing was “a grotesque abuse of power” by Trump. And he declared that Trump was acting like a dictator, saying: “This is the kind of thing that goes on in non-democracies. That when there is a investigation that reaches near the president of the United States, or the leader of a non-democracy, they fire the people who are in charge of the investigation.”
He also equated the shocking development to events that occurred during the Watergate scandal:
I have not seen anything like this since October 20, 1973 when President Nixon fired Archibald Cox, the water gate special prosecutor. This is something that is not within the American political tradition. That firing led indirectly but certainly to the resignation of President Nixon. And this is very much in this tradition. This is not normal. This is not politics as usual. This is something that is completely outside how the American law is supposed to work.
After Rosenstein’s memo was released to the press, Toobin’s reaction was just as over top. “Can we point out that emperor is not wearing any clothes? This memo from Rod Rosenstein says that James Comey was a fired for being too mean to Hillary Clinton,” he opined. “Does anyone believe that? Could anyone believe that? I mean, it is just absurd.”
He again compared the situation to Watergate and tried to predict a dark future for the Russia investigation:
If anyone thinks a new FBI director is going come in and the agency will just take over and continue their investigation, as if this had never happened, that's not how it works. They will put in a stooge who will shut down this investigation. They are in charge, the political people are in charge of the FBI. Not the street agents. The street agent do what they're told and now Donald Trump will put in, maybe Chris Christie, someone who will do his bidding.
Surprisingly, CNN’s Gloria Borger confronted Toobin and reiterated what was in Rosenstein’s controversial memo. “And it criticizes his recent testimony in which Comey said he had a choice between conceal and speak,” she told Toobin. “And he says here in this letter, ‘conceal is a loaded term that misstates the issue’ and he says that you should refrain from publicizing nonpublic information.”
Only time will tell if Toobin’s assertions were correct. But his attitude and demeanor were way over the top. That’s not to mention that his tirade was based on what little information is available to the public, which means all of his pontificating was mere speculation.
Transcript below:
CNN
The Situation Room
May 9, 2017
6:01:10 PM Eastern
WOLF BLITZER: I want to bring in Jeffrey Toobin, our senior legal analyst. Jeffrey, this is an extraordinary moment in American history.
JEFFREY TOOBIN: You bet it is, Wolf. And a grotesque abuse of power, by the President of the United States. This is the kind of thing that goes on in non-democracies. That when there is a investigation that reaches near the president of the united States, or the leader of a non-democracy, they fire the people who are in charge of the investigation. I have not seen anything like this since October 20, 1973 when President Nixon fired Archibald Cox, the water gate special prosecutor. This is something that is not within the American political tradition. That firing led indirectly but certainly to the resignation of President Nixon. And this is very much in this tradition. This is not normal. This is not politics as usual. This is something that is completely outside how the American law is supposed to work.
BLITZER: But the president does have the authority to fire the FBI director, Jeffrey right?
TOOBIN: He certainly does. He absolutely does. Bill Clinton fired William Sessions early in President Clinton's term. There is no question that the President has the legal authority to do what he has done. But that is not by any means the end of the inquiry. This is a political act when the president is under investigation, when his White House counsel was described yesterday as being told that his national security adviser was subject to blackmail by the Russians. And they fired the attorney general a few days later. Now they fired the FBI director. I mean, what kind of country is this?
…
6:20:36 PM
TOOBIN: Can we point out that emperor is not wearing any clothes? This memo from Rod Rosenstein says that James Comey was a fired for being too mean to Hillary Clinton? Does anyone believe that? Could anyone believe that? I mean, it is just absurd. That suddenly here it is in May of 2017 that he is being fired for a press conference that he held in July of 2016? I mean, this is just the most preposterous pretext. This is an investigator, investigating the White House, and he was just fired by the White House.
 This doesn't happen in the United States, except on October 20, 1973 when Richard Nixon fired Archibald Cox. If anyone thinks a new FBI director is going come in and the agency will just take over and continue their investigation, as if this had never happened, that's not how it works. They will put in a stooge who will shut down this investigation. They are in charge, the political people are in charge of the FBI. Not the street agents. The street agent do what they're told and now Donald Trump will put in, maybe Chris Christie, someone who will do his bidding.
GLORIA BORGER: Well let me ask you this also Jeffrey. because this letter from Rosenstein also talks about the October 28—his letter of course that through the election into a tizzy on October 28th. And it criticizes his recent testimony in which Comey said he had a choice between conceal and speak. Remember that testimony? And he says here in this letter, “conceal is a loaded term that misstates the issue” and he says that you should refrain from publicizing nonpublic information. And in other words, they are now saying that Comey should never have released that letter to congress that Democrats charge handed the election to Hillary Clinton.
[Blitzer takes phone call from Brian Fallon, agrees with Toobin]
…
TOOBIN: We do not fire FBI director when they are closing in on the White House.
…
BLITZER: Why do you think he is fired?
TOOBIN: Because he is running a – because the FBI is running an investigation of Donald Trump's campaign and Russia and apparently it’s getting too close for comfort. That the only rational conclusion that you can draw from this firing.
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By Nicholas Fondacaro
 All the media could talk about Tuesdaynight was how President Donald Trump fired FBI Director James Comey. As unfounded speculation about Trump’s assumed guilt swirled, CNN political commentator David Gregory was in a visible rage over the whole ordeal. At the end of the eight o’clock hour of Anderson Cooper 360, he declared that the firing was a display Trump’s “disdain” for the rule of law. But what was on full display was Gregory’s disdain for the Trump administration.
“I want to make a point about how absurd this night is,” he angrily told the rest of the panel partway through the nine o’clock hour. He railed against Attorney General Jeff Sessions for not standing up to the President. “So, at no time did he turn to the president and say, “You know, it would be inappropriate for you to fire the head of the FBI when the FBI is investigating your campaign by extension your White House for colluding with a foreign power,” he spat.
Former Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli spoke up and called Gregory’s visceral reaction absurd. “How is that absurd,” Gregory yelled across the table. “If you run an agency that runs investigations, which I have, that person does not day to day run the investigation. They are not in charge of the investigation. They manage the personnel and that's it,” Cuccinelli began to explain as Gregory proceeded to shout over him.
“I'm sorry. No, no, no! He is the attorney general – [cross talk] no, no, you interrupted me. I will finish my point. Mr. Cuccinelli! [cross talk] No, no. You are getting out talking points,” Gregory could be heard yelling over the cross talk. The CNN political analyst accused Cuccinelli of just spouting White House talking points and no substance. He then praised the Hillary Clinton campaign for getting “sage advice” to not fire Comey if she won.
Cuccinelli then called out the entire CNN panel for being obviously stacked with opponents of the administration’s action and “hyperventilating” over it. “But you all are jumping to conclusions. I think maybe -- let's hypothetically assume all of your awful expectations are true. Which are overwhelmingly represented in the discussion tonight,” he chided.
Later on in the show, Cuccinelli took ranting and raving Jeffrey Toobin to task and embarrassingly educated him on the way the FBI works. “Here we have an investigation that is proceeding. Everything that happens in this investigation tomorrow is going to be the same in spite of the removal of the director of the FBI,” he told Toobin. “Because the professionals who handle this day to day are going to keep handling it day to day. They're not going to their office and start sucking their thumbs.”
“How do you know? How do you know that,” Toobin demanded to know. “So why is there a head of the FBI if the guy doesn't matter at all? They sort of operate on automatic pilot?”
“The whole agency operates day to day, a whole set of career professionals who carry these investigations in a responsible for them day to day,” Cuccinelli said. “Who tells them what to investigate,” Toobin responded. “Once in a while one of them die. They replace them. And lo and behold the investigation goes on,” the former Virginia AG joked.
Throughout their whole discussion, Toobin was childishly making goofy faces as if Cuccinelli didn’t know what he was talking about. Between this and Gregory’s angry antics, it appears as through their thinly veiled hatred and biases have bubbled up to the surface.
Transcript below:
CNN
Anderson Cooper 360
May 9, 2017
9:12:20 PM Eastern
DAVID GREGORY I want to make a point about how absurd this night is. The attorney general who is involved in making this recommendation thought enough to recuse himself from the Russian investigation because he himself failed to disclose that he had meetings with the Russian ambassador. So, at no time did he turn to the president and say, “You know, it would be inappropriate for you to fire the head of the FBI when the FBI is investigating your campaign by extension your White House for colluding with a foreign power.”
KEN CUCCINELLI: That in itself is absurd.
GREGORY: How is that absurd?!
CUCCINELLI: If you run an agency that runs investigations, which I have, that person does not day to day run the investigation. They are not in charge of the investigation. They manage the personnel and that's it.
GREGORY: I'm sorry. No, no, no! He is the attorney general – [cross talk] no, no, you interrupted me. I will finish my point. Mr. Cuccinelli! [cross talk] No, no. You are getting out talking points.
ANDERSON COOPER [over cross talk]: One at a time. We don't need to talk over each other. We have plenty of time. Will you just stop? Let him finish his point.
 GREGORY: To issue a talking point. You’re a political figure understand you want to do that. He is the attorney general of the United States. He advises the President. He knew enough to recuse himself from the investigation. He should have been a grown-up and stood up said this was wrong. You know, people have said from the White House, some of the talking points you were starting to utter, that in fact Hillary Clinton –
CUCCINELLI: I don’t have any White House talking points.
GREGORY: Well it sounded similar to what Kellyanne Conway said when you interrupted me.
CUCCINELLI: When she was being interrupted by Anderson.
GREGORY: Excuse me I'm speaking. You will have your chance. You’ve been brought on. You’ll have plenty of opportunity. The White House is saying Hillary Clinton would have fired Jim Comey. I'm sure she would have liked to. I know for a fact here was some discussion of that when she thought she was poised to win. But she actually got very sage advice that you couldn't do that because of how nakedly political that would look. Apparently, there's nobody in the White House who gave that advice to this president.
CUCCINELLI: But you all are jumping to conclusions. I think maybe -- let's hypothetically assume all of your awful expectations are true. Which are overwhelmingly represented in the discussion tonight. Let's assume they are true. You will know that when the President announces his proposed replacement. That person in light of all of the concerns expressed here -- some of them in a rather hyperventilated way -- will be brought into even clearer focus when that person is selected.
 …
9:40:45 PM Eastern
CUCCINELLI: Here we have an investigation that is proceeding. Everything that happens in this investigation tomorrow is going to be the same in spite of the removal of the director of the FBI. Because the professionals who handle this day to day are going to keep handling it day to day. They're not going to –
JEFFREY TOOBIN: How do you know?
CUCCINELLI: --their office and start sucking their thumbs.
TOOBIN: How do you know that?
CUCCINELLI: Oh come on, it's ridiculous Jeff. This doesn't stop anything. All the grand jury subpoenas go out. The work in pursuit of those will continue just as it has before.
TOOBIN: So why is there a head of the FBI if the guy doesn't matter at all? They sort of operate on automatic pilot?
CUCCINELLI: The whole agency operates day to day, a whole set of career professionals who carry these investigations in a responsible for them day to day.
TOOBIN: Who tells them what to investigate?
CUCCINELLI: Once in a while one of them die. They replace them. And lo and behold the investigation goes on.
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By Kristine Marsh
 Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice appeared on Tuesday’s The View, where she was pummelled with partisan questions aimed to bait her into admitting that Hillary Clinton should’ve won the 2016 election and attack Donald Trump. Rice didn’t fall for any of the liberal hosts’ traps though and held her own, even earning the panel’s listening ear, something most Republicans don’t get when guests on The View.
Host Joy Behar began by trying to get Rice to comment on current Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s attachments to Russia. Rice explained that as former CEO of Exxon, of course he would have a business relationship with a country that is rich in oil.
She went on to bring up what Behar was really driving at, the media-driven meme that Russians “hacked the election,” before Behar could even get to asking it.
RICE: Look at where relations are with the Russians. Again, I think we ought to be looking into what ties were there, that makes perfectly good sense. But I also want to say something about Vladimir Putin and interfering in our elections. He has been trying to interfere in your election and everybody else’s for a very long time. What cyber allows him to do is to do it more efficiently and more quickly. Let's not deceive ourselves that the Russians haven't tried these tricks before. They have.Now, I would have said -- I would have said to the Russians, ‘we know you did it. At the time of our choosing, we will find a way to punish that behavior.’ But Vladimir Putin is an eye for an eye kind of person, and we questioned -- Secretary Clinton questioned the legitimacy of his election in 2012. Now he's saying, I'm going to question the legitimacy of your election by hacking into it and so forth.
Rice went on to scold the left for giving Putin the “satisfaction” of thinking he swayed our electoral process:
So, don't let him get the satisfaction of thinking that we don't believe our own elections to be legitimate.
Host Sara Haines followed up by asking if Rice really felt that Putin went after Clinton as a sort of revenge:
HAINES: So do you think that was a personal eye for an eye against Hillary Clinton?
RICE: I think it was personal. He likes to intimidate. Now, I can tell you that I was with him on many occasions and one particular occasion we went into a room to discuss and his people are sitting on one sofa. He and his foreign minister. And I'm sitting on the other. And I'm delivering a message about U.S./Russian relations and they were messing around in Georgia at the time and I said, you know, Mr. President, if you do anything in Georgia, President Bush wants you to know that that would greatly affect our relationship. And he stood up and now he's peering over me. And so just on instinct, I stood up too. Now, I'm five foot --
WHOOPI: He didn't realize who he was peering over.
RICE: I'm 5'10" in heels. He's not. So you can't be intimidated by Putin or let him play these psychological games.
Host Sunny Hostin tried to get back to the Russian hacking question again, asking bluntly:
HOSTIN: But Madam Secretary, if he indeed did engage in these types of tactics in our election, then the very legitimacy of our election is at issue, isn't it?
Rice immediately shot that narrative down, as grasping at straws and showing a mistrust in the American people’s intelligence.
RICE: No, no. That's where I -- first of all, I don't want to question his motives beyond he's an eye for an eye kind of person. Secondly, I trust the people who voted in Wisconsin and Texas and Alabama and California to have voted on the basis of who they thought was best going to represent their interests. And so I'm not going to question the legitimacy of their vote because Vladimir Putin tried to interfere in the elections. That's just a step that I don’t think we should take. Let’s trust our fellow citizens to have been smart enough to have voted for the people they thought they ought to be voting for.
The View in particular has been pushing the delegitimized election narrative hard since Trump won. In December, the hosts even tried to get Trump out of office, excitedly sharing their theory before his inauguration, using this as their primary reason for his ineligibility.
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By Geoffrey Dickens
 After a lengthy career as an NBC/MSNBC analyst spent trashing conservatives and admiring Democrats, so-called Republican Nicolle Wallace is finally being rewarded with her own show. Wallace’s show Deadline: White House will debut on Tuesday, and she fits the bill of an “MSNBC Republican” to a T.
The former McCain-Palin campaign senior advisor didn’t even vote for the candidates she worked for. And she has displayed that kind of disloyalty as a TV talking head. In her stints as a co-host on ABC’s The View and NBC political analyst, the former George W. Bush White House communications director has attacked Republicans from the “despised” Ted Cruz and “moronic” James Inhofe to the “un-American” Donald Trump, but offered kind words for Bill and Hillary Clinton.
Going back to 2014, she gushed that she was a “huge fan” of the idea of a Hillary Clinton candidacy and dismissed the idea of her husband’s scandalous past hurting her because “to know Bill is to love Bill.” However, in 2015 she essentially called Sarah Palin “mentally ill.” And during the 2016 campaign she accused Trump’s supporters of having “sinister sentiments.”
Most recently, Wallace labeled Trump’s immigration polices as “un-American,” and was stumped by Trump voters who refused to take her bait to criticize the new president.
The following are just a few examples, from the MRC’s archives, of Wallace’s most RINO-worthy performances:
Stumped by Trump Voters Who Still Support Him
Nicolle Wallace: “Do you think we should be banning people from countries that haven’t launched any attacks against the United States?”
Trump voter Judy Phelps: “I think that they ought to stop everybody from coming in, just let the country breathe and take a step back and figure out what’s going on.”
Wallace: “You don’t think that’s un-American?”
— NBC’s Today, February 10.
Nicolle Wallace: “On this farm, the President gets plenty of pasture, even for the controversial travel ban.”
Trump voter Brian Laplant: “Maybe he didn’t handle it the right way. But is there ever going to be a right way to handle that? If it keeps us safe, maybe that’s what we gotta do.”
Wallace: “Do you think that’s in line with our values as a country?”
— NBC’s Today, February 24.
Accuses Trump Supporters of “Sinister Sentiments”
Nicolle Wallace: “He [Donald Trump] is tapping into the most sinister sentiments in this country. People that are angry about the Obama administration.”...
Host Joe Scarborough: “And you said the word ‘sinister.’ Let me ask you, is my brother sinister? Because, I get texts all weekend back and forth. It doesn’t matter what it is. I get texts. Is your father sinister?”
Wallace: “My father is listening to his dark angels. And we’ve been fighting every night.”
— MSNBC’s Morning Joe, December 2, 2015.
Some Republicans Should Consider Voting for Hillary
Nicolle Wallace: “The conversations happening in private with Republicans, is that if you are not a social conservative there is less and less rationale for hardened opposition to Hillary Clinton. If you’re a social conservative there's no way you get there, if you care about that bucket of social issues, pro-life, what not, you can't make the leap to Hillary Clinton. But if foreign policy is how you vote, if that is your central concern, if counterterrorism is what worries you, how do you not consider Hillary Clinton in November?”
Former Democratic Congressman Harold Ford, Jr.: “Well said.”
— MSNBC’s Morning Joe, March 21, 2016.
Media Hate Hillary More Than Republicans?
“The media, they hate her the most, okay? More than my party. They hate her. And even the most respected journalists said, you know, ‘Oh, the Clintonian penchant for secrecy is back.’ They have Clinton PTSD from the last Clinton presidency. They are done with her.”
— Co-host Nicolle Wallace, an ex-GOP campaign strategist, on ABC’s The View, March 11, 2015.
Hillary’s Attack on Gun-Rights Gave Me Chills
“We watch her [Hillary Clinton] speeches on the nights of the primaries live, and sometimes they sound – you know, that’s an intense environment. Those are huge crowds. I think that she’s so policy focused that she’s so effective and powerful in these settings. She seems to have sort of – I don’t know. She’s pulled back a little bit. That attack on the guns is so, you know, I got chills. This is the third time I have heard it. And you know, I think when she makes an argument like that, in sort of a more serious tone, it’s deadly.”
— Nicolle Wallace on MSNBC’s Morning Joe, April 12, 2016.
Hillary Set Up Secret Server to Shield Wedding E-Mails?
“What’s the revelation, that the Clintons didn’t follow the rules? That the Clintons tried to hide stuff and that the Clintons are now acting like it’s a vast right-wing media conspiracy?...I’m not saying it’s not a story. I’m just saying, we’re going to talk about it, and then they’re all going to get turned over and it’s going to be a bunch of wedding stuff. I mean, who did she e-mail that we think we’re not going to see?”
— ABC’s The View co-host Nicolle Wallace on MSNBC’s Morning Joe, March 5, 2015.
“Huge Fan” of a Hillary Clinton Candidacy
Host Wendy Williams: “Now do you think that Hillary will run for president?”...
Nicolle Wallace: “I do think Hillary will run. I’m a huge fan of the idea of a Hillary Clinton candidacy. I’m really interested in seeing how she handles the gender issue because I think she’s learned a lot since last time....I think Hillary will be an incredibly strong candidate and I think it will be really, really, hopefully it will inspire my party to put up someone really great.”
— Syndicated Wendy show, October 22, 2014.
“To Know Bill Is to Love Bill” Clinton...
Co-host Jenny McCarthy: “But do you think Bill’s past will hurt her at all?”
Co-host Nicolle Wallace: “No. That’s baked in the cake. I mean, to know Bill is to love Bill, whether you’re a Democrat or a Republican. So, I don’t think it's going to affect anyone.”
— ABC’s The View, March 13, 2014.
...But She Really Hates Ted Cruz
“He [Ted Cruz] is truly despised. He is not viewed as a team player. I worked with him on the [2000 Bush/Gore] recount in Florida, and the recount was sort of ground zero for the biggest egos in both parties in the whole country, and he rose to the top in terms of hubris and egomania....These are good Republicans who worked in the Bush administration, clerks on the Supreme Court, who say they would have a really hard time voting for Ted Cruz if he were the Republican standard bearer.”
— Nicolle Wallace on Bloomberg’s With All Due Respect, December 29, 2015.
Liberal Anchor Gives Her Goosebumps...
Co-host Nicolle Wallace: “It's so cool when you sit at this table. I have little goosebumps because I'm sitting next to Diane Sawyer. Sorry.”
Former ABC News anchor Diane Sawyer: “Your goosebumps have to aim higher, okay?”
Wallace: “My goosebumps have arrived.”
— ABC’s The View, April 24, 2015.
...But “Mentally Ill” Sarah Palin Was “Chilling”
“[Sarah Palin] gave a speech this weekend in Iowa where again on full display were all the gaps in her knowledge and that’s what became obvious not just to the public but to us, and that was sort of chilling.”
— Nicolle Wallace on The CBS Late Show with David Letterman, January 26, 2015.
“The idea of a mentally ill vice president who suffers in complete isolation was obviously sparked by the behaviors I witnessed by Sarah Palin. What if somebody who was ill-equipped for the office were to ascend to the presidency or vice presidency? What would they do? How long would it take for people to figure it out? I became consumed by this question.”
— Time “Q&A with Palin Advisor-Turned-Novelist Nicolle Wallace” October 5, 2011.
Didn’t Even Vote for the Candidates She Worked For?
“On Election Day, Mrs. Wallace didn’t even vote for the McCain-Palin ticket. ‘I didn’t, I didn’t,’ she said slowly. She never received her absentee ballot — ‘and I was fine with that,’ she admitted.”
— Reporter Ashley Parker in an October 22, 2010 The New York Times article: “What Change Could Look Like.”
Denying Climate Change is “Moronic”
“What bothered me was that a man of his [GOP Senator James Inhofe] age and a man of his stature was throwing stuff inside that chamber....Where do you live that the weather isn’t all screwed up? Where do you live that you can’t tell that we’re having historic floods. He’s in Oklahoma. Maybe it’s just always cold and always hot. But the weather’s changing. And let me say on the politics of this, it’s terrible for the Republican Party to look like we can’t acknowledge reality...It is moronic to throw snow in the Capitol and say ‘I don’t know, I don't think anything is changing.’”
— Nicolle Wallace commenting on GOP Senator James Inhofe bringing a snowball into the Capitol, on ABC’s The View, March 2, 2015.
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