CNN’s Tapper lauded by right, blasted by left for Durham report remarks
CNN anchor Jake Tapper is earning scorn from the left and praise from the right over his commentary on John Durham, a Trump-era special counsel, and a report reviewing the investigation of the former president’s ties to Russia.
“Regardless, the report is here, it has dropped,” Tapper said Monday during his nightly newscast on CNN. “And it might have not produced everything of what some Republicans hope for, it is regardless devastating to the FBI, and to a degree it does exonerate Donald Trump.”
“It is possible that the FBI had legitimate cause for concern and it is also possible that some individuals in the FBI got ahead over their skis and were not as professional as they should have been,” he added later during his show.
Durham’s findings come after a years-long investigation concluding that “the FBI’s handling of important aspects of the Crossfire Hurricane matter were seriously deficient,” according to the report, which was released Monday. “Crossfire Hurricane” was the name of the investigation launched into Trump and his possible ties to Russia during his first presidential campaign in 2016.
Republicans cheered Tapper’s remarks, citing it as a rare acknowledgement by a leading mainstream media figure of Trump’s targeting by what they say are biased federal law enforcement officials or a so-called “deep state.”
“Did you ever think you’d hear that on CNN? ‘It does exonerate Donald Trump’ … The last person you’d think to do that,” Brian Kilmeade, the Fox News morning host said on Tuesday in reference to Tapper.
More CNN coverage from The Hill:
The Republican National Committee sent a tweet just minutes after Tapper’s comments highlighting the anchor’s characterization of the report’s findings .
On the political left, Tapper took some flak.
“[Jake Tapper] says the Durham Report is ‘devastating to the FBI.’ It isn’t. Not even close. No charges, just partisan ‘conclusions’,” Keith Olbermann, the bombastic former cable news host who is frequently critical of leading industry figures, wrote on Twitter. “And Tapper of the new non-journalistic Chris Licht CNN is propagandizing.”
Occupy Democrats, the grassroots liberal political action organization, also chimed in on Twitter saying “shame on Jake Tapper for reporting that it’s “devastating to the FBI” and “does exonerate Donald Trump.” This report is a nothing burger and nobody cares.”
CNN’s editorial bend has been under a microscope over the last year, since new president Chris Licht took over at the network and has implemented a series of personnel and programming changes as he and the media company’s leaders aim to change its image with conservatives and Trump supporters.
The network is also looking to rebound in the ratings, after taking a loss to smaller conservative channel Newsmax in prime time on Friday night.
The dynamic came to a head last week when CNN hosted a widely-watched town hall with Trump, which at times went off the rails and allowed Trump to speak about his unfounded theories on voter fraud and mock a woman who a jury found a day earlier he had sexually abused.
The town hall has miffed some high-profile staffers at CNN, The Hill previously reported, though Licht has defended the event and its coverage of the president more generally.
Source: The Hill
