NBC News says it “inaccurately” cut off an important part of an interview with Attorney General William Barr that was aired during a segment on “Meet The Press.”
On Sunday afternoon, Justice Department spokesperson Kerri Kupec blasted the network for its “deceptive editing/commentary” of an interview Barr did with CBS News last week about the department’s decision to drop its prosecution of former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn, as IJR reported.
The twitter account for “Meet The Press” responded to Kupec’s tweet on Sunday night, and admitted that it had cut out a key part of the interview.
The tweet read, “You’re correct. Earlier today, we inadvertently and inaccurately cut short a video clip of an interview with AG Barr before offering commentary and analysis.”
“The remaining clip included important remarks from the attorney general that we missed, and we regret the error,” it added.
You’re correct. Earlier today, we inadvertently and inaccurately cut short a video clip of an interview with AG Barr before offering commentary and analysis. The remaining clip included important remarks from the attorney general that we missed, and we regret the error.
— Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) May 10, 2020
During the segment on Flynn, host Chuck Todd played a clip of the CBS News interview where Barr was asked how he thought history would reflect on the decision to drop the prosecution of Flynn.
In the clip featured on Todd’s show, Barr is seen saying, “Well, history is written by the winner. So it largely depends on who’s writing the history.”
Todd then blasted Barr for not arguing that the decision upheld the rule of law in that clip. He said, “I was struck, Peggy, by the cynicism of the answer. It’s a correct answer, but he’s the attorney general. He didn’t make the case that he was upholding the rule of law.”
However, as Kupec noted, the full transcript of the CBS News interview shows that Barr did make the case that dropping the prosecution of Flynn would uphold the rule of law.
Read Barr’s full response below:
“Well, history is written by the winner. So it largely depends on who’s writing the history. But I think a fair history would say that it was a good decision because it upheld the rule of law. It helped, it upheld the standards of the Department of Justice, and it undid what was an injustice.”
President Donald Trump weighed in on the segment and called for Todd to be fired, “Sleepy Eyes Chuck Todd should be FIRED by ‘Concast’ (NBC) for this fraud. He knew exactly what he was doing. Public Airwaves = Fake News!”
Sleepy Eyes Chuck Todd should be FIRED by “Concast” (NBC) for this fraud. He knew exactly what he was doing. Public Airwaves = Fake News! @AjitPaiFCC @FCC https://t.co/fLTDhjMXo4
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 11, 2020
On May 7, the Justice Department filed a motion in court to drop its prosecution of Flynn, as IJR reported.
That decision drew swift criticism from Democrats who alleged the decision was evidence that the Justice Department had become politicized and demanded answers about the move to drop the prosecution.