CNN freaks out over Attorney General Barr ‘spying’ testimony

By Whitney Tipton

CNN took issue with Attorney General William Barr’s use of the term “spying” during his testimony Wednesday, using social media to say that Barr provided no evidence to support his claim.

Barr was asked by Democratic New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen about his plans to review conduct related to the Trump investigation. “I think spying on a political campaign is a big deal,” Barr told the Senate Appropriations subcommittee. “I think spying did occur, yes. I think spying did occur.” Shortly thereafter, CNN published a tweet:

Attorney General William Barr says spying on Trump campaign “did occur,” but provides no evidence.

Questioning Barr’s testimony appeared to be the theme for the network’s evening programming, with anchors and guests offering commentary that supported the position that there is no evidence that the Trump campaign was spied on.

On his “Inside Politics” show John King said the term “spying” was significant and “that word has meaning. When the attorney general of the united states says ‘spying’ … he’s channeling his boss the President.”

CNN anchor Anderson Cooper characterized the term “spying” as “loaded,” describing Barr’s testimony as “striking” for someone who is typically “lawyerly and precise.” Cooper asked if Barr was just sending a message that he is the president’s “guy,” and he was embracing Trump’s “conspiracy theory about the origins of the Russia probe.”

His colleague Chris Cuomo said choice of the word “spying” was calculated, “an insult to the men and women” who work for Barr, and a “defamatory way to refer to surveillance.”

“CNN Tonight” host Don Lemon called Barr a soft-spoken man with a sterling reputation in Washington, but whose “outrageous claim that the Trump campaign was spied on” was not supported by any evidence.

Declaring that the “paranoid lunacy of the right wing” has taken over the Department of Justice, CNN chief legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin added that Barr’s remarks were “loaded’ and “false” during a segment on Cooper Anderson’s show.

“This is a classic demonstration of the ‘Fox Newsification’ of the Republican party,” Toobin said.

CNN has struggled to regain ratings losses after investing two years into substantial coverage of investigations into President Trump’s alleged Russian collusion, culminating in lackluster Mueller report findings and subsequent ratings drops for CNN’s political line-up.

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Image courtesy of U.S. Justice Department

8 thoughts on “CNN freaks out over Attorney General Barr ‘spying’ testimony

  1. CNN is full of it.
    Barr said he thought spying on Trump campaign had been going on, because the FBI had obtained a judicial surveillance order.
    Barr said he will investigate the details and background regarding the basis on which the FBI obtained the order.
    Barr will present a report the President
    We must not forget, there were dozens of emails between FBI staffers indicating extreme, fanatical bias against Trump and his campaign. They were utterly devastated when Trump won, because they knew they had been trying to frame Trump. Some of these folks have been fired, for good reasons.

    Many more heads will roll. Stay tuned

    • Would be interested in any comments you may make re the recent Julian Assange arrest and pending extradition to U.S. in relation to the above.

      • My take on Assange is WHY are the English and Americans spending so much
        time/money on a reporter who actually is Reporting the truth. Though it was obtained
        illegally it wasn’t him that obtained it, he only reported it. The criminal is/was
        HE/SHE/IT bradly/chelsie manning whom Obola the incompetent let off hook and
        made the military pay for the hesheits transition.

        I say bring him here let him talk to AG Barr and on tape to indite those in “SPYGATE” 2020.. then send him home to Australia.

        • If you’re familiar w/ Glenn Greenwald, you may already be familiar with this:
          https://t.co/xdTQ8xauB0

          He’s been guest on Alex Jones’s show and a reliable investigative reporter. I find that there’s got to be a lot more to this than hits mainstream media. My prob is I have my own concerns that preclude my going very far down the rabbit hole. What I have learnt is that there are those who really want to hear what Assange has to say, and those who would as soon see him silenced–permanent like.

        • The government HATES whistle blowers look at what happened to those that did (in the IRS, EPA ref). People in government with a conscience are ostracized.Their minds must be in turmoil knowing they have to work in that climate.

          I’m all for Assange, he did a great service and needs a Metal for Honor, or the Freedom Metal—name any kind of metal. He was a thorn in the back of the Hildabeast and BO.

          Need more like him that have the guts.

  2. Any evidence that Barr would have hinted to would have been falsely fact checked by the liberal media and reported as nonsense. So Barr did exactly what he should have done, throw something shinny in the water for the CNN seagulls.

  3. Wow the Commie No News network seems triggered by AG Barr’s statement of the TRUTH..
    Obama, Clinton, Podesta’s, Lynch, Comie, Brennan, Clapper, Stroz, Ohr’s and the rest of the corrupt 3rd
    floor at FIB central all need jail time for instigating the ILLEGAL UNWARRANTED SPYING ON A
    CITIZEN RUNNING FOR OFFICE. Since cnn was complicit in hiding the truth they should be in
    an adjoining cell with their fascist idols…and any protection on the 1st amendment rights revoked
    for keeping the truth from the citizenry. oh yea lets not forget the corrupt judge who signed off on allowing
    the SPYING to go on…Hopefully Russia, Russia, Russia, Russia…is going to seem like small potatoes
    by the time Barr get’s done with the criminals.. Obola better stay in Germany with his muzzie butt buds…

  4. Wow, now that’s some earth-shattering news ” Spying ” within the US…..Someone, please
    tell me that our elected officials aren’t that ” Stupid ” to believe it’s new news ??

    I believe everyone in the US knows that spying goes on, I guess Liberal DemocRATs are
    just waking up !!…… Oh wait, they have another name for it political opposition studies….

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