Rubio Blasts ‘Shocking’ Media Refusal to Cover Durham Bombshell

Appearing on Fox News Channel’s Bret Baier Special Report Monday evening, Florida Republican Senator Marco Rubio hammered the leftist media over it’s “shocking” refusal to cover the latest John Durham investigation bombshell that the 2016 Hillary Clinton presidential campaign spied on both Donald Trump’s campaign and presidency. The lawmaker noted that the development had the potential to become “one of the biggest political scandals in American history.”

“You just heard the report on the Durham investigation and what you’ve heard about that so far. Your thoughts?,” anchor Bret Baier asked. Rubio lashed out at journalists who ignored the story. “This is a big deal. I mean, it’s shocking to me that this is not receiving more coverage in the press. I don’t think any of the Sunday shows mentioned it.”Kevin Tober, NewsBusters’ analyst, did report that the Sunday news shows were indeed censored.

The senator warned: “…if this is all proven true, it would be one of the biggest political scandals in American history. It would be a crime, no doubt about it.”He blamed then the media for creating an environment of corruption. “And it would tell you why these people think they can get away with it. They think they can get away with it because the media will not report on it.”

“If this was the other way, if this was a story about how the Trump campaign had hired some data experts and others to go out there and do this to a President Clinton, this would be – like we wouldn’t be able to talk about anything else around here,”Rubio concluded.

Rubio criticized reporters again for questioning their credibility moments later as he reacted to anonymous claims that Trump had destroyed White House documents prior to his departure.

I don’t know what’s true and what’s not. Because they’ve made up so many stories about Donald Trump over the years.Some things I knew to be false. Nowadays in mainstream media, you just need one source to smear Donald Trump – maybe you don’t even need that….I mean, at this point I’ve seen at least a dozen things said about Trump that turned out to be complete lies.Someone makes up the story and others just follow their lead. I’ve seen books with things in there that I know were not true and they’re widely reported as established facts. So that’s why it’s so difficult to take anything they say seriously.

He pointed out the following: “But what I’m talking about with what happened with Clinton. That’s not some reporter, that’s not some story in The New York Times. That’s a federal pleading in federal court.”

Later, at 6:00 p.m. ET hour show Baier repeated this point to Fox News media analyst, host of MediaBuzz Howard Kurtz: “Let’s talk about coverage. The John Durham case, obviously the filing is a court document, it’s not an allegation. It’s a court document and what’s the coverage of this?”

Kurtz outlined the deafening silence of the press:

Well, to a remarkable degree, there hasn’t been much coverage at all. TimesPolitico, CNN and MSNBC haven’t reported on these allegations.This isn’t some story that was sourced anonymously. Instead, the actual declarations of a federal prosecutor are documented in court papers. With a few exceptions to the right, the majority of media have deemed it non-news. The Washington Post just now dismissed the whole thing as “one relatively vague allegation.”

Then he noted: “Donald Trump, who said today the non-coverage is itself a scandal, has repeatedly claimed to be the target of Democratic spying. Which has long been mocked by the media.”

Brit Hume, a senior political analyst and panelist at the conclusion of the program, stated that “so far the media’s reaction to it is shades of the Hunter Biden laptop story, which was a solid story they refused to cover in the middle of a campaign.” After pointing out how reporters “ended up with egg all over their faces for failing to do so,” Hume saw a similar situation coming with the non-coverage of the Durham investigation:

Here’s the story.Let’s face it: in the short term we may not hear much more. Mainstream media might not catch on to the story. But, should additional charges or indictments be filed and further information is available, that seems at most distinctly possible. The national media is going to have egg all over it’s collective face again.

Baier offered viewers a 2020 flashback of how CBS’s 60 Minutes not only falsely claimed there was no evidence of a Biden scandal but also falsely denied Trump’s claim of being spied on:

LESLEY STAHL: We can’t put on things we can’t verify.

DONALD TRUMP: No, you won’t put it on because it’s bad for Biden.

STAHL: We can’t put on things we can’t verify.

TRUMP: Lesley, they  spied on my campaign.

STAHL: Well, we can’t verify that.

TRUMP: It’s been totally verified. It’s been – just go down and get the papers.

The left-wing media determination to ignore bad news for Democrats won’t overcome the reality of a major unfolding scandal.

Below is the transcript from Fox’s February 14, coverage:

6.12 PM ET

(…)

BRET BAIER: You just heard the report on the Durham investigation and what you’ve heard about that so far. Let us know your thoughts.

SEN. MARCO RUBIO [R-FL]This is an important issue. I mean, it’s shocking to me that this is not receiving more coverage in the press. I don’t think any of the Sunday shows mentioned it. We are not talking here about the probe which used data scientists in order to fabricate a story of Trump-Russian links. It seems that a private business had an agreement to host servers for Donald Trump’s White House. The companies were sharing information in order to build a narrative to support a political operation.

And do you know why – if this is all proven true, it would be one of the biggest political scandals in American history. That would be an indictment. This would show you how these people feel they can do it without being caught. Because the media won’t report it, they think that they are able to get away with it. If this was the other way, if this was a story about how the Trump campaign had hired some data experts and others to go out there and do this to a President Clinton, this would be – like we wouldn’t be able to talk about anything else around here.

BAIER: Yeah, Senator, we’re covering it extensively. We’re going to ask a Democrat about it just after the break. Here’s what they say, “Why are Republicans seemingly not as alarmed about President Trump’s handling of documents compared to worries about Hillary Clinton’s emails? Both former National Security Advisor Sandy Berger, former CIA Director John Deutsch slapped with criminal penalties for mishandling national security documents.” We know there are 15 boxes down in Mar-a-Lago. There’s allegations of flushing documents down the toilet in the Oval Office that the former President has denied. What is the best way to answer this?

RUBIO: Well, first of all, I don’t know what’s true and what’s not. Because they’ve made up so many stories about Donald Trump over the years. These were things that I was certain to know weren’t true. Nowadays in mainstream media, you just need one source to smear Donald Trump – maybe you don’t even need that. So it’s hard to tell anymore what really happened and what didn’t. All accounts say that the documents found at Mar-a-Lago were turned over.

Look, if the process wasn’t followed there, then there needs to be something that happens about that. It’s not a crime, I don’t believe. But the stuff about flushing paper down the toilet, who knows if that’s even true? These people – I mean, at this point I’ve seen at least a dozen things said about Trump that turned out to be complete lies. It’s easy to make up stories and the media will just go along with them. I’ve seen books with things in there that I know were not true and they’re widely reported as established facts. So that’s why it’s so difficult to take anything they say seriously.

But what I’m talking about with what happened with Clinton. That’s not some reporter, that’s not some story in The New York Times. That’s a federal pleading in federal court.

BAIER: Thank you Senator Rubio for taking the time to speak.

(…)

6:43 PM ET

BAIER: Let’s talk about coverage. The John Durham case, obviously the filing is a court document, it’s not an allegation. It’s a court document and what’s the coverage of this?

HOWARD KURTZ: Well, to a remarkable degree, there hasn’t been much coverage at all. TimesPolitico and CNN have never reported anything about the accusations. This isn’t an anonymous story. There are court documents that detail the actual declarations of a federal prosecutor. With a few exceptions to the right however, the majority of media have deemed it non-news. The Washington Post just now dismissed the whole thing as “one relatively vague allegation.”

Now, Special Counsel John Durham is a respected figure who hasn’t exactly brought any wild charges during his probe. Donald Trump claimed today that the lack of coverage is a scandal and has repeated the claim to have been the victim of Democratic spying. It has long been ridiculed in the media.

Now, there’s plenty we don’t know here. It is not clear what the scope of the internet surveillance was or whether Clinton campaign personnel knew. If the media acknowledges it, the new evidence may change the narrative.

BAIER: That’s a good point.

(…)

6:56PM ET

BAIER: Brit! Is it not wrong to think, when you look at the picture, that this is quite a deal?

BRIT HUME: I think it’s a big deal, Bret. And so far the media’s reaction to it is shades of the Hunter Biden laptop story, which was a solid story they refused to cover in the middle of a campaign. They ended up looking like they had put eggs all over their faces because they failed to do it. Here’s the story. This is the story. We might not see any more in the immediate term. The mainstream media may not report it. However, if additional charges, indictments, and information are filed, then that seems to be at the very least possible. The national media is going to have egg all over it’s collective face again. But I think, in the end, what’s gonna really matter the most is whether there are indeed further revelations and charges, criminal charges.  

BAIER, Juan. It’s also possible to view the past through the lens of what it was like back then. This is Donald Trump 60 Minutes:

LESLEY STAHL: We can’t put on things we can’t verify.

DONALD TRUMP: No, you won’t put it on because it’s bad for Biden.

STAHL: We can’t put on things we can’t verify.

TRUMP: Lesley, they  spied on my campaign.

STAHL: Well, we can’t verify that.

TRUMP: It’s been totally verified. It’s been – just go down and get the papers.

(…)