CNN, MSNBC downplay Jussie Smollett conviction, use verdict to bash conservatives

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Media top headlines December 10

In media news today, MSNBC primetime hosts avoid the Jussie Smollet verdict, The View Gushes over Hillary Clinton's would-be 2016 victory speech, and CNBC's Jim Cramer gushes about the economy.

CNN and MSNBC have continued to treat Jussie Smollett with kid gloves despite him being found guilty Thursday on five of the six charges against him stemming from the hate crime hoax he orchestrated in 2019. 

As Smollett’s story crumbled, he emerged as a prominent symbol of how liberal media organizations often run with their preferred narrative before facts are known. Liberals peddled the false narrative that Smollett was attacked by two MAGA hat-wearing Trump supporters at 2 a.m. during the polar vortex in Chicago. Everyone from Democratic politicians to left-wing cable news pundits were quick to believe Smollett’s unlikely tale, which has now been officially debunked in court. 

CNN and MSNBC have continued to treat Jussie Smollett with kid gloves despite being found guilty Thursday on five of the six charges against him stemming from the hate crime hoax he orchestrated in 2019. (Photo by KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI/AFP via Getty Images)

JUSSIE SMOLLETT CONVICTED OF STAGING HATE CRIME, LYING TO COPS

The jury found Smollett guilty on the first five counts and he was acquitted on a sixth count of lying to a detective weeks after the alleged attack. 

Despite the guilty verdict, CNN and MSNBC both downplayed the case or managed to place blame on conservatives.  

Plastered on CNN's website was the softened headline, "Jussie Smollett guilty on some charges." Many mocked the inclusion of the word "some," but the liberal network wasn’t finished with its bizarre coverage of the verdict. 

JUSSIE SMOLLETT VERDICT: CNN PANNED FOR DECLARING DISGRACED ACTOR GUILTY 'ON SOME CHARGES'

CNN pundit Brian Stelter’s media newsletter "Reliable Sources," oddly led with criticism of conservative media for pointing out that many liberal news organizations fell for Smollett’s hoax. Instead of scolding reporters and analysts who bought Smollett’s story in the first place, CNN’s media industry newsletter frowned upon the organizations who did hold the liberal media accountable. 

Over at MSNBC, Smollett's conviction was completely ignored by "ReidOut" host Joy Reid, "All In" host Chris Hayes, "The Rachel Maddow Show" host Rachel Maddow," "The Last Word" host Lawrence O'Donnell as well as "11th Hour" anchor Brian Williams. Even CNN’s far-left host Don Lemon managed to cover the story on-air, but his MSNBC contemporaries didn’t bother. 

In fact, MSNBC's most-watched programs have never covered the hoax since Smollett made his initial claims and as his false narrative unraveled, according to Grabien transcripts.

A jury convicted actor Jussie Smollett of five counts of disorderly conduct for staging a racist, anti-gay attack in Chicago and lying to police.  (AP Graphic)

MSNBC found room on its website to declare Smollett's conviction "will be used by Trump supporters to prove Democrats wrongly label them villains."

JUSSIE SMOLLETT: KEY MOMENTS SINCE ACTOR REPORTED CHICAGO ATTACK

MSNBC opinion columnist Zach Stafford mentioned in the first paragraph that "it doesn’t matter" if Smollett was actually innocent and is being wrongly punished because legitimate victims of hate crimes will feel the consequences either way. 

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"The seemingly never-ending questions over the almost three years regarding the truthfulness of his account means the indisputable victims of hate crimes will now carry an even heavier burden of suspicion," Stafford wrote. 

"The only winners found as the dust settles are the members of the right who have declared themselves America’s real victims of hate and discrimination — people who have strategically made the Smollett case their go-to example for how the left operates and how it wrongly makes villains out of Donald Trump supporters," the MSNBC columnist added. "Meaning Smollett's guilty verdict is their new crowning jewel as our culture wars rage on." 

MSNBC published a pair of opinion pieces about Jussie Smollett following his conviction.  (Photo by KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI/AFP via Getty Images)

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MSNBC’s website also published a story headlined, "What conservatives should realize before they relish the Jussie Smollett verdict," in which The ReidOut Blog writer Ja'han Jones recapped the ordeal before managing to tie it to the January 6 Capitol riot. 

"How dare someone make such a heinous claim about followers of their dear leader, they screeched. Violent, masked white guys who shout Trump slogans and use chemical agents to attack victims? Many on the right shamed those of us who knew such a claim was totally plausible — and then the Jan. 6 insurrection happened," Jones wrote. 

Fox News’ Julius Young and Nate Day contributed to this report.