Why Fox News cut CNN off from the Pam Bondi hearing

If there is a Senate confirmation hearing and cable news doesn’t cover it, does that still make a sound?

I mean, of course it does. Many confirmation hearings are not televised at all, including several that took place on Wednesday, January 15, when a number of President-elect Donald Trump’s nominees sat in on the hearings. But what about the high-profile confirmation hearing of Pam Bondi, Trump’s pick for U.S. attorney general, before the Senate Judiciary Committee?

The Senate Armed Services Committee hearing for Pete Hegseth wasn’t all that controversial on Tuesday, but there were some controversial moments, perhaps the most dramatic of which was simply the silence.

Fox News, CNN and MSNBC have opted out of the Bondi hearing

But a significant portion of it was not broadcast by television networks at all. Shortly before a break in the hearing, CNN spoke up and announced that a hostage-taking and ceasefire agreement had been negotiated between Hamas and Israel; MSNBC and Fox News immediately began reporting after confirming the story.

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This is not a complaint. The Armistice is a generational story; The networks did what they should have done (and Fox News resumed coverage toward the end of the session). The hearing was important, of course, as Democratic senators tried to inform Bondi about the independence of her office from any unfavorable influence from Trump, and Republicans used their time to denigrate or slightly annoy Joe Biden’s Justice Department. For all I know, Senator Mike Lee may still be talking. Be grateful for small acts of kindness and news updates.

In a way, everything was business as usual. When the Bondi hearing concluded, Fox News assigned legal analyst Jonathan Turley to praise Bondi’s performance and attack Democrats. For example, he called Senator Adam Schiff “really, truly otherworldly.” This is the happiest of all litigants who want to know if she would turn against her enemies. It was as if Captain Jack Sparrow had objected and asked if you would abide by the law of the sea.”

Good saying, but for these people it’s just another day at the office.

Pam Bondi’s silence on the 2020 election spoke volumes

One of the most dramatic moments was televised. In the first round of questions, Bondi dodged several questions that would have put her at odds with Trump, including answering who won the 2020 election. Trump’s false claims that he did this have since unsettled the election. The furthest Bondi would say is that she accepts the results and that Biden is the president; She wasn’t sure how it happened.

“We want an attorney general who bases his decisions on facts,” Sen. Mazie Hirono, a Democrat from Hawaii, told Bondi. “So I want to ask you a factual question: Who won the 2020 presidential election?”

“Joe Biden is the president of the United States,” Bondi said.

You can say that Trump won the 2024 election, Hirono said. “I may not like it, but I can say it. There is no telling who won the 2020 presidential election. It is disturbing that this fact cannot be given a voice.”

Silence from Bondi. Silence that spoke volumes. Of course, if she had said that Biden won the election fairly, Trump would most likely have shown up in person and sent her packing.

But most viewers probably didn’t see Bondi being questioned about threats to the media simply because they were reporting, as Kash Patel, Trump’s pick for FBI director, suggested. “It is obviously wrong to take action against the media just because they are the media,” she said.

Or whether there was reason to investigate Liz Chaney, a former Republican congressman who is highly critical of Trump and a member of the January 6 Committee, whose members he has threatened. “You don’t seem willing to answer a simple question,” Schiff said. “Do you know of any factual basis for investigating Liz Cheney?”

“Senator, that’s a hypothesis and I’m not going to respond to it,” Bondi said. “We’re all very worried about Liz Cheney,” she adds sarcastically. “You know what we should be worried about, Senator? The crime rate in California is through the roof.”

Sharp.

Adam Schiff and Alex Padilla clashed with Bondi

Perhaps the most contentious exchange took place between Bondi and Senator Alex Padilla, a Democrat from California. He questioned her about her claims of election irregularities in Pennsylvania and asked her if she had any evidence. He wanted a yes or no answer; She didn’t want to be pinned down, so she launched into a lengthy response that began by saying she was sorry about the fires in California. Padilla interrupted them and it went back and forth for a while.

“You interrupted me when I was speaking,” Bondi said, adding: “I will not let you bully me, Senator Padilla. I guess you didn’t want to hear my answer about Pennsylvania.”

Pretty dramatic stuff for what it’s worth. So how did I view networks reporting on the ceasefire? It is being streamed on various media sites. The Internet, man. I heard it’s the wave of the future.

Seriously, the information is usually somewhere if you want to find it. Fox News, CNN and MSNBC left out because they should have. That’s how it is now and that’s how it will be in the foreseeable future. No one can keep up with all of this, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try. Wednesday was a reminder that now more than ever, no matter how big the story, a bigger story can come at any time.

“Stunning”:Fox News and CNN react to crazy Pete Hegseth hearing

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Why Fox News cut CNN off from the Pam Bondi hearing

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