The Biden administration’s move to ask for the resignations of nearly all of the remaining Trump-era U.S. attorneys was met with a muted response by many liberal media outlets despite those same outlets describing the normally routine move as controversial and “abrupt” four years ago.
“Trump sparks new controversy with U.S. Attorneys dismissals,” an MSNBC headline read after former President Donald Trump’s Justice Department asked for the remaining Obama-era prosecutors to step down in 2017.
MSNBC went as far as to speculate that the routine move could be a new “scandal” for the Trump administration.
“Ten years after the last Republican White House had a U.S. attorney scandal, Donald Trump has one of his own,” the outlet reported.
While MSNBC may have painted the move with alarm, the outlet was hardly alone in the tone of its reporting.
“Anger mounts over handling of US attorney firings,” a CNN headline reported at the time.
But CNN took a more neutral tone when it came to the Biden administration’s most recent move.
“DOJ to ask Trump appointed US attorneys to resign,” CNN headlined the most recent round of dismissals, reporting the move was “routine” during new administrations.
The New York Times characterized the former administration’s move in much the same way, reporting that Trump had “abruptly” ordered “46 Obama-era prosecutors to resign.”
“The abrupt order came after two weeks of increasing calls from Mr. Trump’s allies outside the government to oust appointees from President Barack Obama’s administration,” the New York Times reported at the time.
But the New York Times described the Biden administration move with less alarm, reporting the firings were “expected.”
“It is common for new presidents to replace U.S. attorneys en masse, and the request for resignations has long been expected,” the New York Times reported Tuesday.
Former President Bill Clinton fired all 93 U.S. attorneys when he took office in 1993, setting the stage for how new administrations handle turnover in the department.
The Biden administration did make a couple of exemptions this time around, keeping U.S. Attorney David C. Weiss, who is overseeing the tax fraud investigation into the president’s son, Hunter Biden. The administration will also allow special counsel John H. Durham, who is examining the origins of the original Russia investigation, to continue his work.
CNN and the New York Times did not immediately respond to the Washington Examiner’s request for comment.
