CNN media pundit Brian Stelter accused President Trump’s defenders in conservative media of going out of their way to cover for the Justice Department’s move to drop charges against retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn in lieu of dedicating coverage to the coronavirus pandemic.
“It’s so disappointing to look at what we’re seeing from right-wing media these days,” Stelter said Sunday. “Where there is such an obsession with the deep state and these revelations about the Russia probe … ”
“They’re treating the Michael Flynn story like it’s a bigger deal than the deaths of 2,000 Americans a day,” he added.
The CNN media analyst bemoaned how during a recent Fox & Friends appearance, Trump himself “talked about the Flynn case for 20 minutes.”
“In what right mind is any scandal, any political scandal, any Department of Justice story more important to ask the president about than the pandemic that’s raging,” he asked. “Ultimately, that’s about news judgment, it’s about lack of judgment, but I find it befuddling that some people are acting like this death toll is just normal … ”
There have been more than 1.3 million coronavirus cases reported in the United States and nearly 80,000 associated deaths, according to the Johns Hopkins University tracker.
Flynn’s critics point out that he pleaded guilty to lying to federal investigators about his contacts with a Russian envoy and are concerned the Justice Department is politically influenced by the president.
Flynn’s lawyers and Trump’s defenders have expressed outrage over what they believe to be the FBI’s mistreatment of Trump’s first national security adviser. The Justice Department filed to dismiss the case on Thursday, saying the FBI had no legitimate reason to interview Flynn. The federal judge presiding over the case will now decide whether to grant the motion to dismiss.
