After Robert Hur released the special counsel report on President Joe Biden’s classified documents case, Americans could clearly see the President’s deteriorating mental capacity. But the press’ refusal to bury the story has Biden’s allies furious, and for the second time in just under six months, White House counsel Ian Sams was forced to confront media outlets for their “skewed” coverage of Biden.
In September, Sams sent a fiery memo to liberal news organizations for not “scrutinizing” Republicans over impeachment efforts and for focusing on the “process rather than the substance” of the impeachment inquiry. The memo featured a fourteen-page attachment of talking points the media should use to “counter the lies” being told by House Republicans regarding the unfolding Biden corruption scandal.
“We hope this document helps provide you with factual information useful in your reporting on their [Republicans] unprecedented, unfounded claims underlying an impeachment inquiry without any evidence of wrongdoing,” the memo concluded.
Now that even the most liberal news outlets have covered Hur’s report and the conclusion that Biden is nothing short of a forgetful, bumbling but well-intentioned old man, it’s time for more damage control. Sams authored another firm note, this time to the White House Correspondents Association, objecting to their coverage of the special counsel report. In addition, Sams skewered journalists for focusing more on the report than on Trump’s NATO remarks.
In a separate statement, Biden campaign spokesman T.J. Ducklo agreed, adding that America “deserves” a press corps that provides Trump coverage with the “seriousness and ferocity” required. It’s a warning journalists should heed, especially after Ducklo was forced to resign from the White House in 2021 for threatening a reporter.
But Biden has no one to blame other than himself. His unprecedented reclusiveness is legendary, holding only 33 news conferences during his tenure so far. Martha Kumar, a retired professor from Towson University, pointed out that President Biden has held fewer news conferences than any other American president since Ronald Reagan. Similarly, Biden’s 86 interviews fall is lower than any other president since Kumar began examining records dating back to Reagan’s era. Barack Obama conducted 422 interviews within his first three years in office, and Trump had over 170.
But it’s even more frightening when Biden takes matters into his own hands, as proven by an impromptu evening news conference following the release of Hur’s report. During the event, reporters tried to outshout each other while Biden deteriorated into forgetfulness and anger.
Not everyone appreciates Sams’s gentle guidance for kinder, more forgiving Biden coverage. Kelly O’Donnell, who serves as the president of the correspondents’ association and works as an NBC News correspondent, implied that Sams’s concerns were misplaced and needed to be directed towards specific news organizations rather than the association as a whole. O’Donnell admonished, “It is inappropriate for the White House to utilize internal pool distribution channels, primarily for logistics and the rapid sharing of need-to-know information, to disseminate generalized critiques of news coverage.”
Sams’s letter torched reporters for “inaccurately framing” stories surrounding the release of Special Counsel Robert Hur’s report. Sams specifically highlighted reports from CBS News, The Wall Street Journal, The Associated Press, and others, suggesting that Hur found evidence that Biden willfully retained and disclosed classified material. Sams argued that much of this purported evidence was false and was contradicted by Hur’s choice not to pursue charges. He emphasized the importance of addressing such “significant errors” when stating the findings and conclusions of a federal investigation involving a president.
Ex-presidents, not so much.
But Hur’s decision to not press charges because Biden is not mentally sound enough to answer for his crimes is another journalistic angle that Team Biden disagrees with. George Washington University professor and former CNN Washington bureau chief Frank Sesno said he understands the concern that Biden’s mental incapacity will become a story the White House “loses control of.” In the end, Sesno acknowledges that there is not much more for Team Biden to say regarding the age issue. “People will make up their minds based on what they see and hear from Joe Biden.”
Earlier this week, Team Biden unleashed fury on The Times for fact-checking the President’s economic claims. The White House statement, titled “Full of Malarkey,” denounced The Times for giving Trump a “pass on lies.” The move infuriated The Times, with publisher A.G. Sulzberger stating that the paper was not “anyone’s opposition” or, conversely, anyone’s “lap dog.”
The press has been in Biden’s pocket throughout his campaign and election, but sometimes even liberal news organizations are forced to tell the truth. But if Biden completely loses his pet journalists, he can call it a day and head back to Delaware for a permanent vacation.
