Former MSNBC producer Jeff Cohen on Sunday referred to the organization as, the “official network of the Obama White House.”
Prompted by MSNBC‘s coverage of National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden, the left-wing media critic launched a rant against the network in a Huffington Post op-ed.
“When it comes to issues of U.S. militarism and spying, the allegedly ‘progressive’ MSNBC often seems closer to the ‘official network of the Obama White House’ than anything resembling an independent channel,” Cohen wrote.
He wrote that President Obama is waging a “war” against national security leakers. The Obama administration has charged eight leakers under the Espionage Act so far, compared to three charged under the administrations of all previous presidents.
Cohen then criticized MSNBC hosts for their pro-Obama reporting and commentary on these issues.
“Had McCain or Romney defeated Obama and implemented the exact same policies, treating whistleblowers like Manning and Snowden as foreign espionage agents, one would expect MSNBC hosts to be loudly denouncing the Republican abuses of authority,” he wrote.
Rachel Maddow’s report on the force-down of President Morales’ plane ended in her expressing her disappointment that Washington had gotten allies to go out on a limb “for nothing,” implying that it was a letdown simply because it failed. As Snowden arrived in Russia from Hong Kong, MSNBC host Ed Schultz described the NSA leaker as a “punk” and “coward.” And the network’s Melissa Harris-Perry said that unlike other civil disobeyers who “love their country” and submit to arrest, Snowden just wants to “save his own skin.”
