As critics in the mainstream media continue to lob pointed attacks at the Trump administration and its Department of Justice, a recent statement from U.S. Attorney General William Barr was intended to put them in their place.
Describing the press as a “collection of liars” and “political actors,” Barr showed a willingness to address the media in a way not seen by his predecessors, as reported by Townhall.
“A collection of liars”
His blunt rebuke came during an exclusive interview with Townhall’s Katie Pavlich on Friday, during which the attorney general cited ongoing civil unrest as an example to bolster his point.
“They’re basically a collection of liars,” he said. “Most of the mainstream media. They’re a collection of liars and they know exactly what they’re doing. A perfect example of that were the riots.”
Although he said “it was clear as day” that protests had devolved into violence and mayhem, many in the press “kept on excluding from their coverage all the video of this and reporting otherwise and they were doing that for partisan reasons, and they were lying to the American people.”
Going on to assert that “they were caught red-handed” in their subjective reporting, Barr concluded that the “national mainstream media has dropped any pretense of professional objectivity and are political actors, highly partisan, who try to shape what they’re reporting to achieve a political purpose and support a political narrative that has nothing to do with the truth.”
Further characterizing many reporters as untruthful, he said their alleged mendacity is “very destructive to the democratic system” and is “contributing to a lot of the intensity and partisanship” within America.
“Hundreds, even thousands of officers”
Citing the often-repeated claim that nationwide demonstrations involve “mostly peaceful protests,” Barr said it was a “funny” way to describe events that left “record numbers” of police injured in the line of duty.
“You know usually in protests, you have large numbers of injured rioters and a modest number of injured law enforcement,” he said. “I’m talking about back in the ’90s and ’60s, ’60s to the ’90s. Nowadays very few rioters get injured, very few and hundreds, even thousands of officers have been injured.”
In addition to expressing similar disdain for many in the mainstream media, President Donald Trump has also denounced reported attacks on police officers during protests across the nation.
Two suspects were arrested earlier this month during a New York protest in connection with separate alleged assaults on local cops.
While Barr reserved praise for the “handful of reporters” exhibiting some “journalistic integrity” amid the current media environment, many of Trump’s supporters are sure to appreciate the attorney general’s clear denouncement of what the president has long dubbed “fake news.”
The post AG Barr blasts 'highly partisan' mainstream media for 'lying to the American people' first appeared on Conservative Institute.
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