Media top headlines November 11
In media news today, Kamala Harris gets panned for using a 'French accent' to French scientists, Morgan Ortagus rips Adam Schiff over discredited Steele dossier, and ABC News' FiveThirtyEight publishes an article on 'Why racist white voters often favor Black Republicans'
While the mainstream press spent years reporting breathlessly about suspected "collusion" between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin in 2016, many of those same news sources are mostly mum after a sub-source for the unverified Steele dossier alleging the conspiracy was charged with lying to the FBI.
Special Counsel John Durham, who was appointed by the Trump administration to investigate the origins of the Russia investigation, charged Steele sub-source Igor Danchenko with five counts of making false statements to the FBI, exposing more of his ties to Democrats. Democratic operative and Clinton ally Charles Dolan, Jr., was one of Danchenko's primary sources, according to the indictment.
But the latest blow to the Russian collusion narrative did not spur outlets to issue corrections or news networks to dedicate air time to the developments.
Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., called out what he saw as another dish of media hypocrisy.
"It’s clear that Democrats duped the media into spreading the Russia collusion hoax far and wide for years," Cotton told Fox News Digital. "But now that we have evidence showing how Clinton and the Democrats manufactured that hoax, the mainstream press suddenly isn’t interested. I wish I could say I’m surprised."
Former British spy Christopher Steele arrives at the High Court in London, Britain, July 20, 2020. REUTERS/John Sibley (REUTERS/John Sibley)
"At the time, the media explained the 24/7 coverage on the ground that there could be no more significant story than a presidential campaign seeking to rig an election, let alone working with or serving as a conduit of Russian intelligence," legal scholar Jonathan Turley recalled.
10 TIMES THE MEDIA DECLARED THE DISCREDITED STEELE DOSSIER WAS NOT ‘DISPROVEN’
"Durham has now shown it was the other campaign that was serving as a conduit of disinformation and allegedly working with Russian intelligence agents or sources," Turley told Fox News Digital. "Moreover, he is alleging that the campaign knowingly created these allegations for political purposes. Yet there is now largely crickets in the media beyond perfunctory coverage of indictments."
FILE - In this June 21, 2017, file photo, special counsel Robert Mueller departs Capitol Hill following a closed door meeting in Washington. Muellerâs team of investigators has recently questioned a former British spy who compiled a dossier of allegations about President Donald Trumpâs ties to Russia. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik) (AP)
"By any measure, this is an unprecedented and chilling allegation," Turley added. "A major campaign is accused of duping the FBI with false allegations to win an election. The campaign then lied in denying that it funded the dossier until long after the election. Some of the most powerful figures in Washington, including the current National Security Adviser, have been referenced in these indictments."
But he argued the media's reaction doesn't measure the crime.
"The media reaction however ranges from total silence or a collective shrug," he said. "The legal experts who declared the dossier to be overwhelming evidence of crimes or even treason have simply moved on with little or no recognition of the new information. It is strikingly similar to other false stories like the debunked claim (widely reported as true) that Bill Barr cleared Lafayette Park to arrange a photo op for President Trump."
U.S. Representative Adam Schiff (D-CA) speaks with reporters about the situation in Afghanistan at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S. August 23, 2021. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst (REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst)
DURHAM PROBE EXPOSES CLINTON CAMPAIGN TIES TO STEELE DOSSIER
Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., blasted the media for being in "cahoots" with Democrats on the collusion narrative. Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., who was at the center of the Democrats' crusade against Trump, recently claimed on "The View" that he and his colleagues "couldn't have known" people were lying to Christopher Steele.
"He has relished this time in the limelight and the Trump impeachment was something that brought him great joy," Blackburn told Fox News Digital. "He was on center stage … He's now desperately trying to cover his tracks."
She said Americans should be reading corrections and hearing apologies from the mainstream media, and that there should be "some serious reviews as to who they were getting their information from."
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
The senator even drafted an apology for the above networks to use.
"What they should be telling readers and viewers is that, ‘We apologize that we gave you misinformation, we apologize that we did not look deeper, we accepted things at face value, we apologize that our on air anchors continued to say something that was not true even when it was questioned. We apologize that we never brought you both sides of the story,’" Blackburn suggested.
Fox News' Brooke Singman and Jake Gibson contributed to this report
Fox News First
Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox.
By entering your email and clicking the Subscribe button, you agree to the Fox News Privacy Policy and Terms of Use, and agree to receive content and promotional communications from Fox News. You understand that you can opt-out at any time.