Constant Kavanaugh coverage, minuscule Ellison attention proves 'striking' double standard, critics say

Claims against Brett Kavanaugh are front and center, while accusations against Rep. Keith Ellison are largely ignored.

Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh has been under a microscope, with a barrage of media coverage since he was hit with sexual misconduct allegations. But the same media largely ignores physical and verbal harassment claims against Rep. Keith Ellison, a top Democratic National Committee (DNC) official.

NewsBusters Managing Editor Curtis Houck told Fox News that the “double standard is striking” when comparing coverage of damaging allegations against Kavanaugh and Ellison.

“The networks have shown an incredible disregard for Ellison's accuser and her supporting evidence, which is far more than what's been alleged so far in either case against Judge Kavanaugh."

— NewsBusters Managing Editor Curtis Houck

“The networks have shown an incredible disregard for Ellison's accuser and her supporting evidence, which is far more than what's been alleged so far in either case against Judge Kavanaugh,” Houck said. “Ellison knows that his voters will overwhelmingly support him, so the desire to fight or even respond to these claims is minimal.”

The accusations made against Ellison have barely been covered by the broadcast news networks – where many voters still consume their news. There have only been 3 minutes and 28 seconds of Ellison coverage on CBS, with none on ABC or NBC during their morning and evening newscasts, according to the Media Research Center.

Houck said that Kavanaugh, on the other hand, is up against most of the mainstream media and his claim is backed up with statistics.

From Sept. 17-21 alone, the ABC, CBS and NBC morning and evening newscasts spent a combined 223 minutes covering Kavanaugh, according to MRC. ABC spent 89 minutes on the topic, while CBS spent 69 minutes and NBC spent a 65 minutes on the allegations against President Trump’s Supreme Court nominee.

“The media's virulent desire to stop Kavanaugh from being another conservative vote on the Supreme Court has boiled over at the expense of their journalistic ethics and commitment to objectivity,” Houck said.

ABC, NBC and CBS did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

According to the MRC, the Ellison story was ignored by CNN from Aug. 15 until Sept. 22 – when host S.E. Cupp brought it up on her show, “Unfiltered,” to point out the “very obvious double standard in outrage” when comparing Ellison to Kavanaugh.

Ellison’s ex-girlfriend, Karen Monahan, on Sunday claimed there's been a smear campaign against her in an attempt to help Ellison. Last week, she said many Democrats haven't believed her claims: “I've been smeared, threatened, isolated from my own party.”

Ellison has pushed back on allegations of domestic abuse in their relationship, saying his accuser made up the story about him. The Minnesota Democrat running for state attorney general also has dismissed a medical record that named him as the abuser, but said he could not be sure more people wouldn't “cook up” allegations against him.

Kavanaugh denied all wrongdoing he has been accused of.

Fox News’ Frank Miles contributed to this report.