Trump predicts major broadcast networks will show bias in FISA abuse coverage

close

Video

FBI misled the FISA court: IG Horowitz

Michael Horowitz testifies the FBI failed to report exculpatory information to the FISA court

President Trump called out major broadcast outlets on Wednesday, predicting that they wouldn't cover the recent Justice Department inspector general's report with as much intensity as stories that portrayed him in a negative light.

Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel had questioned ABC's, CBS', and NBC's nightly news shows on Twitter.

"Will @NBCNightlyNews @CBSEveningNews @ABCWorldNews cover this hearing detailing #FISAabuse at the FBI as voraciously as they cover anything that's anti-@realDonaldTrump?" she asked, referring to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).

Trump retweeted that post, arguing they "never" would cover the issue fairly.

GRAHAM ALLEGES 'MASSIVE CRIMINAL CONSPIRACY' IN FBI'S RUSSSIA PROBE IN BLISTERING HEARING STATEMENT

Neither ABC News nor CBS News immediately responded to Fox News' requests for comment. Each of those outlets have provided some type of coverage surrounding the report, but it remains to be seen how their evening news shows will cover Wednesday's Senate Judiciary hearing.

A source from NBC News pointed Fox News to coverage specifically from the network's nightly news program. That included its interview with Attorney General William Barr as well as a story on the IG report itself.

IG Michael Horowitz called for "individual accountability" for officials in testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee, going into specifics when committee Chairman Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., asked about a FBI attorney who worked on the FISA warrant applications against former Trump campaign aide Carter Page, a key component of the IG's review.

During his opening statement, Horowitz said: "[O]ur final recommendation was to refer the entire chain of command that we outline here to the FBI and the Department for consideration of how to assess and address their performance failures."

GRAHAM RIPS INTO MEDIA COVERAGE OF IG REPORT: 'HOW DO YOU GET A HEADLINE LIKE THAT?'

Graham similarly criticized media coverage of Horowitz's report on Wednesday.

"I remember reading all these headlines. 'Lawful investigation with a few irregularities.' 'Everything OK, low-level people kind of got off track.' If that's what you get out of this report, you clearly didn't read it," he said.

"If that's your takeaway, that this thing was lawfully predicated, and that's the main point, you missed the entire report," a visibly exasperated Graham added. "How do you get a headline like that? That's what you want it to be. You want it to be that and nothing more."

"And, I can assure you, if this had been a Democratic president going through what President Trump had gone through, that would not have been the headline," he continued. "The headline would be, 'The FBI takes law into its own hands: Biased agents cut corners, lie to the court, ignore exoneration.'"

IG CALLS FOR 'ACCOUNTABILITY' OVER FBI FAILURES IN RUSSIA PROBE

The IG's report shed light on Republican suspicions surrounding the Russia investigation. That investigation concluded without a recommendation to prosecute Trump for obstruction of justice or enough evidence to accuse him of conspiracy with Russia.

Democrats maintained it showed troubling behavior and some called for the president's impeachment. Months after the investigation's conclusion, Democrats pursued an impeachment inquiry related to the president's July 25 call with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

In October, Graham blasted the media for covering the Ukraine controversy unfairly.

"I'm going to let the whole world know that if we were doing this to a Democratic president, you would be all over me right now," he said while speaking to the press. He went on to claim that "not one" member of the media had asked him about certain aspects of the ongoing impeachment inquiry.

"I can only imagine if this was a Democratic president what you would be saying to me right now," he said. "So, it shows a lot of things about our national media. When it's about Trump, who cares about the process, as long as you get him?"

Fox News' Julia Musto and Ronn Blitzer contributed to this report.