Bulwark editor Jonathan V. Last believes CNN news anchors are suddenly dancing delicately around the topic of Donald Trump’s connections to friend and convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein to fend off a vengeful and litigious president.
“It’s a little weird,” Last said of two interviews CNN hosts had with Congressional Democrats on Wednesday. Last used CNN anchor John Berman’s interview with Rep. Dave Min (D-Calif.) as an example.
“Again, you know, Donald Trump has not been named in any connection or charged with any wrongdoing there,” Berman told Min after Min referenced Trump’s myriad connections to Epstein. “Take this for what it is, but [convicted sex trafficker and Epstein partner] Ghislaine Maxwell said, you know, she never saw Donald Trump or anyone, for that matter, engaged in any wrongdoing connected to Jeffrey Epstein."
READ MORE: 'The White House is scrambling': Epstein scandal forces Trump to act like 'a typical politician'
“… But then later on in the day, CNN had another Democrat on, and this time it was [anchor] Brianna Keilarwho said the same thing about there not being any wrongdoing,” Last told Bulwark White House Correspondent Andrew Egger.
“We should note — it’s important to — there has been — we’ve seen no sign of wrongdoing on Trump's part,” Keilartold Rep. Greg Casar (D-Texas) after Casar told Keilar: “Where there’s smoke there’s fire” when it comes to Trump and Epstein.
“This time, that just sort of comes out of nowhere in the course of their conversation,” Last told Egger. “And, uh, I'm just speculating here. … But it sure sounds to me like somebody at CNN has given on-air personalities a talking to about making sure that they say in interviews that Donald Trump has not been connected to any wrongdoing.”
Egger answered that “it doesn't take a rocket scientist to put two and two together here.”
READ MORE: 'Someone needs to be fired': MAGA rages at Secret Service over Trump dinner disaster
“I mean, obviously, news outlets are worried. They've got reason to be worried. They know that the White House's story on all this stuff makes no sense. And they know that when the White House's story makes no sense, their first and last tool in their toolkit has been is to sue the parties responsible for breaking the news,” said Egger, referencing Trump’s $10 million suit against the Wall Street Journal for reporting the existence of Trump’s incriminating letter to Epstein before Democrats on the Oversight Committee released the letter to the public.
“But the fact that the Wall Street Journal's reporting has been vindicated has not led the White House to back off,” Egger added. “The fact that their lawsuit is going to remain ongoing has in fact been one of their main talking points in responding to the latest tranche of news. And, you know, it's plainly that the higher the temperature gets here, the more they're pressing down the pedal of litigation.”
Eggers suggested the White House may be personally putting pressure on national media leaders “behind the scenes” or CNN leaders are “pre-complying and trying to get out in front of possible litigation” from the White House.
Last said “that is a problem with corporate owned media.”
READ MORE: 'One of the loudest voices on the right' hammers Trump — and WH stays quiet 'out of fear'
“And—shameless plug! Not a problem with the Bulwark where this is all we do. So, we'll just say the stuff that's obvious: [Trump’s] connected to wrongdoing. He has done wrong things. Many people are saying, with tears in their eyes, that Donald Trump is doing wrongdoing.”
Hear the Bulwark podcast at this link.