In a press conference two days before his previously announced resignation, Attorney General William Barr announced new charges in a terror attack 32 years ago. But the media had other topics to talk about.
Summary
During a press conference intended to announce new charges being filed in the terrorist bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 in 1988, Attorney General William Barr was pressed on several hot button topics involving the election and Hunter Biden.
- In his remarks two days before his planned resignation, Barr reiterated previous comments on the lack of enough evidence of voter fraud to change the outcome of the presidential election.
- He signaled he will not appoint a special counsel to investigate election fraud, resisting calls from Congress to do so.
- Barr also remarked he does not believe a special counsel into Hunter Biden’s taxes and foreign income is necessary, saying “I think that it’s being handled responsibly and professionally.”
- The Attorney General also said he agrees with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on the Russians being responsible for the massive cyber-attack that breached multiple government networks.
- CNN framed their coverage to present the press conference squarely as Barr rebuking President Trump.
- The press conference is “likely to further erode” the relationship between Trump and Barr according to The Washington Post, which also focused its reporting on cleaving the soon-to-be former Attorney General from the President.
- Liberal outlets also turned their coverage to the Trump legal team’s reaction to the press conference, focusing on Jenna Ellis attacking Barr.
- The New York Post separated their reporting, focusing one piece on the criminal charges related to the 1988 terror attack, while emphasizing the Hunter Biden investigation in another article.
- Conservative outlet Fox News also zeroed in on the Hunter Biden angle while criticizing competitor CNN for not airing Barr’s press conference until the subject turned to Barr disagreeing with the president.
- The Daily Caller is one of the few conservative outlets to specifically and explicitly frame its reporting as a division between Trump and Barr.
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© Dallas Gerber, 2020
