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Fox News Anchor Surprised His Incorrect Story About FBI And a Clinton Indictment ‘Got Picked Up Everywhere’

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EDITORIAL: MORE FOX NEWS HACKERY

Fox News Channel’s chief political anchor Bret Baier on Wednesday reported that an FBI ivestigation was moving towards “likely an indictment” for Hillary Clinton in a “pay-to-play” case the Bureau has been investigating for “more than a year.” The anchor of “Special Report with Bret Baier” breathlessly told viewers in a story that was called a “bombshell” on right wing media outlets that “two separate sources with intimate knowledge of the FBI investigations” assured Fox News that the “Clinton Foundation investigation is far more expansive than anybody has reported so far,” and the FBI is “actively and aggressively pursuing this case.”

Baier went on to tell his right wing audience that lapped up every word with excitement and without question that the investigation into the Clinton Foundation “is a, quote, ‘very high priority.’ Agents have interviewed and reinterviewed multiple people about the Foundation case, and even before the WikiLeaks dumps, agents say they have collected a great deal of evidence. Pressed on that, one sources said, quote, ‘a lot of it,’ and ‘there is an avalanche of new information coming every day.'”

Now, if you’re like me and heard Baier say this yesterday, maybe you thought it sounded bad but then you stopped and thought that it just sounded fishy. First of all, the FBI doesn’t indict. A prosecutor from the Dept. of Justice would, and would have to make that decision after the investigation was complete.

Secondly, we know there is a part of the FBI that is conservative to far right wing and furious that Comey did not recommend indicting Clinton this summer. Hence the leaks we’ve increasingly seen in recent weeks, including the insane tweeting of government files on Bill and Hillary Clinton from a dormant FBI account.

So if Baier were a journalist worth his salt, he’d be talking to sources within the FBI, since there are plenty who apparently have an axe to grind, and not, as he said, “two separate sources with intimate knowledge of the FBI investigations,” who frankly could be anyone, and anyone who wants to plant a story without taking blame, but clearly not anyone inside the Bureau.

Third, “there is an avalanche of new information coming every day.” Really? Seriously? Maybe in an investigator’s dreams, but it doesn’t work that way.

So, as Raw Story and Media Matters and other outlets report today, Bret Baier was forced to walk back his story, although he still insists an indictment of Hillary Clinton will be forthcoming, because sources not in the FBI were brave enough to not go on the record with their names but assure him, days before the election, this will happen, so he can report it while holding on to a modicum of credibility.

“Baier’s uncritical reporting of anonymous, unvetted sources has been parroted by a stream of Fox hosts and correspondents, as well as right–wing blogs,” Media Matters notes, adding:

“The Daily Beast has reported on a pipeline between conservative FBI agents (both active and retired) — angered by FBI Director James Comey’s conclusion in July that there was insufficient evidence to recommend any indictment in the review of Clinton’s use of private email as secretary of state — and Fox News. According to The Daily Beast, “Trump supporters with strong ties to the agency kept talking about surprises and leaks to come — and come they did.”

And, unsurprisingly, the far right wing media universe was stunned when the story wasn’t picked up by more reliable sources.

Why?

It’s Fox News hackery at its finest.

Here’s yesterday’s initial report that sounds so damning until you actually listen to how artfully he uses key words that sound damning but then, you know, also just sound false.

Breaking news on the Hillary Clinton email investigation

Posted by Bret Baier on Wednesday, November 2, 2016

Baier is still holding on to the indictment part, but was stunned that his supposed bombshell of a story, which, again, we believe is just plain false, “got picked up everywhere.” 

Here he is walking it back, where he notes that, yes, only a prosecutor, not the FBI, can indict someone:

Continuing my reporting with the newest information on the breaking news into the Hillary Clinton email investigations on America's Newsroom with Bill Hemmer and Martha MacCallum.#SpecialReport #FoxNews

Posted by Bret Baier on Thursday, November 3, 2016

And one more disgusting side note about how Fox News operates. In the above video where Baier walks back part of his story, look at the stock footage on the right side of the screen starting at the -4:03 mark that Fox News chooses to use of Clinton. Hillary Clinton with Black people, and for a moment, there’s even an HRC logo flag in the shots. There’s also a few seconds of Clinton being chummy with several men wearing Scott Israel tees. Google Scott Israel and you’ll find articles like, “Sheriff Scott Israel accused of misusing office for political campaign.”

There is of course nothing wrong with hanging out with Black people or gay people, except in the minds of many Fox News viewers. So the picture painted for those Fox News viewers is Clinton only hangs out with minorities and people who are accused of corruption. 

It’s frankly very ugly.

And this is how the right operates.

Do a Twitter search for “Clinton” and “indict” and you’ll find tweets like this one, retweeted almost 1100 times, and liked nearly 1000 times:

Or this one from the far right media watchdog that doesn’t even know that the FBI cannot indict anyone:

And then there are “articles” like this at the right wing Independent Journal Review, that according to their stats have been viewed, apparently, 935,000 times in less than a day: “FBI Sources: Agency Moving Towards ‘Likely an Indictment’ for Hillary Clinton.” 

And we wonder why it feels like the right is living in a different universe. It’s exactly because of this type of “reporting” that gets repeated by literally millions of conservatives every day.

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COMMENTARY

Trump An ‘Enemy of the Constitution’ Declares Nicolle Wallace, Blasting Call to ‘Terminate’ Nation’s Founding Document

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11 hours ago

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December 5, 2022

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MSNBC’s Nicolle Wallace slammed Donald Trump as an “enemy of the Constitution” on Monday after the ex-president, over the weekend, called for the U.S. Constitution to be terminated.

Trump demanded “the termination of all rules, regulations, and articles, even those found in the Constitution,” in light of his most recent – and false – claim the 2020 presidential election was stolen.

That was Saturday, on his Truth Social account.

On Monday, Trump denied having ever said it, despite the post still being up.

Wallace characterized Trump’s call to terminate the Constitution “an extraordinary statement even by the standards of a failed wannabe autocrat who plotted a coup against his own government and recently dined with white supremacists.”

READ MORE: ‘Venom’: Experts Shocked as Gorsuch Angrily Accuses Colorado of Forcing Anti-LGBTQ Baker Into ‘Re-Education Program’

“The disgraced ex-president made his contempt for our democracy as clear as ever, when he called for the United States Constitution to be ‘terminated.'”

Quoting The Washington Post, Wallace said: “Trump’s message on his Truth Social platform reiterated the baseless claims he has made since 2020, that the election was stolen, but he went further by suggesting that the country abandon one of its founding documents.”

She also played a clip of Republican Congressman Dave Joyce of Ohio from Sunday’s ABC News.

Rep. Joyce in the clip twists and turns but ultimately admits that if Trump is the GOP nominee for president in 2024 he will vote for him.

READ MORE: Anti-LGBTQ Slurs on Twitter Up Over 800% as Musk Allows Thousands of Previously Banned Users Back: Reports

“Well, again, it’s early I think there’s gonna be a lot of people in the primary I think at the end of the day, you will have — wherever the Republicans tend to pick up I will fall in behind because that’s –”

ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos interjected, asking,”Even if it’s Donald Trump, as he’s called for suspending the Constitution?”

“Again, I think it’s gonna be a big field. I don’t think Donald Trump’s gonna clear out the field like he did in 2016.”

“I will support whoever the Republican nominee is,” Joyce added.

“And I don’t don’t think that at this point he will be able to get there because I think there’s a lot of other good quality candidates out there.”

“He says a lot of things,” Joyce continued, refusing to denounce Trump.

“Let’s not speed past that moment,” Wallace urged. “This is exactly how Trump happened. All the Republicans in Washington and around the country said, [Trump] ‘says all sorts of stupid you know what. Dorsn’t mean he’s going to do it.'”

“He did all of it, all of it. And then some,” she chastised.

Watch below or at this link.

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'REGURGITATING RIGHT WING TALKING POINTS'

‘Venom’: Experts Shocked as Gorsuch Angrily Accuses Colorado of Forcing Anti-LGBTQ Baker Into ‘Re-Education Program’

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13 hours ago

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December 5, 2022

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U.S. Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch appeared angry and even hostile at several points throughout Monday’s oral arguments in a case brought by a Colorado right-wing evangelical Christian website designer who is suing the state because she wants to be able to discriminate against same-sex couples who are getting married.

The case, 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis, promises to be one of the most important of the term, and arguments extended more than two hours.

During one of the more heated moments, conservative Justice Gorsuch attacked Colorado Solicitor General Eric Olson, claiming the state forced an infamous anti-LGBTQ baker who also went before the Supreme Court, winning his 2018 case in a very narrow ruling, into a “re-education program.”

RELATED: ‘What the Hell, Sam’: Justice Alito Slammed for Making ‘Joke’ About Black Children in KKK Costumes

Jack Phillips, a business owner who refused to bake cakes for same-sex weddings, citing his religious beliefs, was required to attend a class so he could become familiar with Colorado anti-discrimination law.

The Supreme Court’s ruling at the time called it, “additional remedial measures, including ‘comprehensive staff training on the Public Accommodations section'” of Colorado’s anti-discrimination law.

Justice Gorsuch instead called it a “re-education program,” and slammed the state’s Solicitor General, Eric Olson, with it on Monday.

“Mr. Phillips did go through a re-education training program, pursuant to Colorado law, did he not, Mr. Olson?” Gorsuch asked the solicitor general.

“He went through a process that ensured he was familiar –” Olson responded, before Gorsuch cut him off.

“It was a re-education program, right?” the justice blared.

“It was not a ‘re-education program,'” Olson replied, holding his ground.

“What do you call it?” Gorsuch, dissatisfied, pressed.

“It was a process to make sure he was familiar with Colorado law,” Olson explained.

“Some might be excused for calling that a ‘re-education program,’” Gorsuch snapped.

“I strongly disagree, Justice Gorsuch,” Olson said, defending the law.

Slate’s Mark Joseph Stern, who provided the clip above, warns: “It does not bode well for the future of civil rights law that Gorsuch believes a state imposes ‘reeducation training’ on employers when it reminds them how to comply with nondiscrimination rules.”

RELATED: 5 Things You Need to Know About the Supreme Court Ruling in the Gay Wedding Cake Case

“Astounding that Gorsuch, A Supreme Court Justice,” tweeted Adam Cohen of Attorneys for Good Government, “Refers to Colorado giving courses on following civil rights law, As ‘reeducation training.'”

“Like being taught not to discriminate against LGBTQ is the same as being sent to a gulag for protesting communism in the Soviet Union,” he added.

Professor Elizabeth Sepper of the University of Texas at Austin School of Law says, “Justice Gorsuch describes education about antidiscrimination law and compliance as a REEDUCATION PROGRAM. This is beyond offensive. It was a central and SOFT tool of many civil rights movements and was essential to targeting market discrimination.”

Columbia Law School’s Elizabeth Reiner Platt, the Director of The Law, Rights, and Religion Project responded, “OMG Gorsuch repeatedly insists that a training on civil rights law is a ‘reeducation program.’ Good grief.”

Attorney Andrew L. Seidel, Vice President of Strategic Communications for Americans United for Separation of Church and State tweeted, “WHOA. Gorsuch asks a very hostile question about sending the bakery to ‘a re-education program.’ He spits the phrase with venom and repeats it several times. He’s regurgitating right wing talking points.”

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'INAPPROPRIATE'

‘What the Hell, Sam’: Justice Alito Slammed for Making ‘Joke’ About Black Children in KKK Costumes

Published

16 hours ago

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December 5, 2022

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The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments Monday in one of the most important cases of the term, a case that will determine if the nation’s highest court will or will not allow a person citing their personal religious beliefs to openly discriminate in the marketplace against same-sex couples.

In likely the most salient and important hypothetical example, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson described in great detail a photographer wanting to re-create scenes from 1940’s Christmases with Santa Clauses and children, in sepia tones, and making them historically accurate.

She asked the attorney representing the right-wing Christian website designer who does not want to have to provide her product to same-sex couples, if under her legal theory the hypothetical photographer would have to create photos of a white Santa with Black children.

Kristen Waggoner, the Alliance Defending Freedom‘s attorney arguing in favor of anti-LGBTQ discrimination, was forced to admit that the photographer would be able to say they would not take photos of Black children with a white Santa.

RELATED: Listen Live: SCOTUS Hears Christian Right Religion vs. LGBTQ Civil Rights Challenge

Later, Justice Samuel Alito, one of the Court’s most far-right jurists, decided to use Justice Jackson’s hypothetical analogy to make a point, and he did so by mockingly joking about Black children wearing KKK costumes.

“Justice Jackson’s example of that, the Santa in the mall who doesn’t want his picture taken with Black children,” Justice Alito began, getting the basics of the analogy incorrect.

“So if there’s a Black Santa at the other end of the mall, and he doesn’t want to have his picture taken with a child who is dressed up in a Ku Klux Klan outfit, now does that Black Santa have to do that?”

Colorado Solicitor General Eric Olson replied, “No, because Klu Klux Klan outfits are not protected characteristics under public accommodation laws.”

READ MORE: ‘Anathema to the Soul of Our Nation’: Trump Pilloried for Demanding ‘Termination’ of the US Constitution

“And presumably,” Justice Sonia Sotomayor interjected, “that would be the same Ku Klux Klan outfit regardless whether if the child was Black or white or any other characteristic.”

That’s when Alito decided to make a “joke,” while thousands of Americans were listening to the Court’s live proceedings.

“You do see a lot of Black children in Ku Klux Klan outfits all the time,” he said, presumably sarcastically.

He then laughed, and some viewers in the gallery joined with him.

Many on social media were outraged and offended.

“He is so inappropriate today. And offensive,” said Sherrilyn Ifill, the former President and Director-Counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund (LDF). “The Black kids in KuKluxKlan outfits? Not funny. Is this the highest Court of the most powerful country in the world? Good grief.”

Minutes later, NYU School of Law Professor of Law Melissa Murray weighed in, saying, “I’m going to need Justice Alito to stop joking about seeing ‘Black children in Ku Klux Klan costumes.'”

“Seriously, what am I listening to?” she asked, to which Ifill replied, “Just awful.”

“The joke about Black kids in KuKluxKlan outfits?” Ifill also lamented. “No Justice Alito, these ‘jokes’ are so inappropriate, no matter how many in the courtroom chuckle mindlessly.”

Columbia University Professor of Law Katherine Franke tweeted, “Justice Alito is resorting to KKK jokes. Ha ha ha. As if what’s at stake here is funny, and isn’t taking place in a context in which LGBTQ people feel like we have a target on our backs. And, ahem – Klan jokes aren’t funny under any context.”

The Rewire News Group tweeted, in all caps, “I knew Alito wouldn’t be able to resist bringing up the Ku Klux Klan,” and then: “What the hell, Sam.”

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