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IssuesChetry falsely claimed Franken said Rove and Libby "should be executed for treason" -- then denied having claimed it
During an interview with Al
Franken on the March 14 edition
of CNN's American Morning,
host Kiran Chetry falsely asserted to Franken, "You said some things
about [former White House deputy chief of staff] Karl Rove and [former chief of
staff to Vice President Dick Cheney] Scooter Libby, saying they should be
executed for treason." As the website Raw Story noted, Chetry was
referring to an exchange Franken had
with David Letterman on the October 21, 2005, edition of CBS' Late Show regarding Rove and Libby's
roles in leaking the identity of former CIA operative Valerie Plame. However,
during that interview, Franken did not assert that Rove and Libby "should
be executed for treason." Rather, as Franken noted during his interview
with Chetry, he asserted on the Late Show
that "George H.W. Bush, the president's father, was the head of the CIA,
and he has said that outing a CIA agent is treason," and then said,
"what it looks like is going to happen is that Libby and Karl Rove are
going to be executed." Franken added, "I don't know how I feel
about it because I'm basically against the death penalty, but they are going to
be executed, it looks like."
In response to Chetry's claim that
he "sa[id]" Rove and Libby "should be executed for
treason," Franken stated, "I did not say that, Kiran," and
later said, "I didn't even say that in a joking matter."
After Franken described his original comments, Chetry asserted: "All I'm
saying is, when you say things like that in the past ... and you're running,
obviously those things come up." When Franken replied, "What you
said was that I advocated the execution of Karl -- ," Chetry interrupted,
and denied she made her earlier statement, saying, "I didn't say
advocated. I didn't actually say you advocated [it]." Franken concluded
of his Late Show remarks,
"[T]he whole point of that was to show that outing a CIA agent is serious.
That's what a satirist does."
From the March 14 edition of CNN's American Morning:
CHETRY:
Now, you quoted something [Sen.] Norm Coleman [R-MN] said. You've said some
controversial things in the past. You wrote a book called Rush Limbaugh Is a Big Fat Idiot. You said
some things about --
FRANKEN:
-- and Other Observations.
CHETRY: You said some things about Karl Rove and Scooter
Libby, saying they should be executed for treason because they are --
FRANKEN:
I did not say that, Kiran.
CHETRY:
In a joking manner?
FRANKEN:
Kiran.
CHETRY:
In a satirical way?
FRANKEN:
No. I didn't even say that in a joking manner.
CHETRY:
What did you say?
FRANKEN:
I was on David Letterman's show, and he asked me, this is, like, the day after
it was revealed that they had outed -- participated in the outing of Valerie Plame,
and he asked me what was gonna happen to him. And I said that President George
H.W. Bush, before he was president, was director of the CIA. And George H.W.
Bush said that outing a CIA agent was treason. I said, "David, you know
what the penalty is for treason." And David asked me what was gonna
happen to them. I said, "So I guess they might be executed, which I'm
against. I don't know how -- I'm against the death penalty. And I'm
afraid that [Vice President Dick] Cheney and [President George W.] Bush might be involved in some way, and so we should
pass a constitutional amendment to ban the execution of a sitting president,
because that would be very demoralizing to the American people." This
was, you know, this is exactly what the Republican Party is doing. They take
things out of --
CHETRY:
Well, this is a CBS Late Show
quote. OK, so the CBS Late Show
quote, just so we're clear -- if you say, I mean, you were joking, you were
joking around with David Letterman, he's a comedian, too -- is:
"And so basically what it looks like is going to happen is that Libby and
Karl Rove are going be executed because outing a CIA agent is treason."
And then you said -- you went on to say, "We should never, ever, ever
execute a sitting president." All I'm saying is, when you say things like
that in the past, and you're running --
FRANKEN:
But no, but what you said was --
CHETRY:
-- obviously those things come up.
FRANKEN: What you said
was that I advocated the execution of Karl --
CHETRY: I didn't say advocated. I didn't say you advocated.
I'm just talking about when you say things in the past that can be perceived as
divisive, how do you then come together and say, "You know what? I can be
a senator for everyone in the state"?
FRANKEN:
Because people know the difference between being a satirist, and the whole
point of that was to show that outing a CIA agent is serious. That's what a
satirist does. A satirist points out what is actually serious, and anyone --
and, you know, the trick here is, they are going to be taking things out of
context, and you're right. The Republican Party in Minnesota said that I advocated the execution of those guys. And I
wasn't. And that's -- it was very clear to the Letterman audience and
anyone who saw that, and, look, this is just ridiculous. We should be talking
about foreclosures on homes. We should be talking about gas prices. We should
be talking about loss of jobs, and that's what I'm going to do.
CHETRY:
No, I agree.
FRANKEN:
The reason they want -- the reason they want to do this kind of distraction is
that Norm Coleman has such a terrible record on these things. So I'm not gonna
let them do that, and then when they say that I advocated these things, they're
only shooting themselves in the foot. They came out with this the day I
announced. The day I announced, the first poll came out, said I was 22 points
down to Norm Coleman. The last poll has me three points ahead of Norm Coleman.
This doesn't work. And if they -- let them continue to do this. I'm gonna talk
about the problems that face Minnesotans.
CHETRY:
OK. And I just want to ask you this --
FRANKEN:
I'm gonna talk about getting to universal health care.
CHETRY:
Right.
FRANKEN:
Go ahead.
From the October 21, 2005, edition of
CBS' Late Show with David Letterman
(Media Matters for
America was unable to locate the
full video of the segment; clips available
here and here):
LETTERMAN:
The feeling was that this report made the administration's decision to go to
war look bad --
FRANKEN: Right. So they
wanted to smear the guy who came back with the report, and so they outed his
wife and said she sent him there, that she had -- and this is essentially --
you know, George H.W. Bush, the president's father, was the head of the CIA,
and he has said that outing a CIA agent is treason.
LETTERMAN: It is
treason, yes.
FRANKEN: And so,
basically, what it looks like is going to happen is that Libby and Karl Rove
are going to be executed.
LETTERMAN: What? What?
Really?
FRANKEN: Yeah. And I
don't know how I feel about it because I'm basically against the death penalty,
but they are going to be executed, it looks like.
[...]
LETTERMAN:
The real crime is that there's an adult man walking around in the current
administration named Scooter. I mean, we can agree on that, right?
FRANKEN: That, and --
but sooner or later he'll be executed, so -- and you worry about it because the
president at some -- he said right away when [columnist Robert] Novak
outed the CIA agent, Plame, said, "I want to get to the bottom of
this." Well, now, Karl Rove is his right-hand man. Did he ask Karl? Did
Karl lie to him? If so, we know now he should have fired Karl by now so that --
did Karl tell the truth to him? In that case, the president -- and I think, by
the way, that we should never ever, ever, ever execute a sitting president.
LETTERMAN: It makes us
look bad around the world, I think.
FRANKEN: It would. It
would be heartbreaking, I think, and I think that we should have a
constitutional amendment.
LETTERMAN: I see, yeah.
Have we ever come close in the history to executing a seated president?
FRANKEN: No, this will
be the closest.
LETTERMAN: This will be
the closest, yeah.
FRANKEN: Unless we get
that amendment passed now.
Published: Mon, 17 Mar 2008 21:38:07 GMT - Source: Mediamatters.Org - Read the articleNorth AmericaHuckabee chats up David Letterman
NEW YORK -- Talk about judgment: Mike Huckabee says he has placed his political fate in the hands of David Letterman. "If I win New Hampshire, it's because I did this show," the former Arkansas govern...
Published: Tue, 08 Jan 2008 20:26:39 GMT - Source: Detnews.Com - Read the articleIssuesNBC's Nightly News repeatedly noted Huckabee's upcoming appearance on Tonight Show without reporting he crossed picket line
On the January 2 edition of NBC's
Nightly News, anchor Brian
Williams, NBC News chief White House correspondent David Gregory, chief foreign
affairs correspondent Andrea Mitchell, and correspondent Mike Taibbi all noted
that Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee would appear later that
night on NBC's The Tonight Show with Jay
Leno, without reporting that Huckabee would be crossing a picket line
in making the appearance. Taibbi was
the only NBC reporter to refer to "a picket line," but only later mentioned
Huckabee's appearance and did not report that he would be crossing the picket
line. The
Writers Guild of America (WGA) began striking on November 5, 2007, over residual
payments for, as the Los Angeles
Times reported,
"TV series and movies shown on computers and new-media devices, such as cell
phones and video iPods." On January 2, The
Tonight Show, among other late-night talk shows, returned
to the airwaves despite the strike.
Huckabee, who has garnered at least two union
endorsements in the
Republican primaries, had earlier expressed
support for the writers, but nevertheless crossed the picket line to appear
on The Tonight Show. By contrast,
on January 2, the CBS Evening News noted that Huckabee would be
crossing a picket line to
make his appearance on the late-night program and discussed the potential fallout from
his decision.
The
Associated Press reported
that, prior to his
appearance on The Tonight Show,
"Huckabee said he supports the writers and did not think he would be crossing a
picket line, because he believed the writers had made an agreement to allow late
night shows back on the air." The AP then challenged that claim, reporting that it was "true only of David
Letterman, who has a separate agreement with writers for his 'Late Show' " on
CBS. From the AP:
Earlier Wednesday, Huckabee said he
supports the writers and did not think he would be crossing a picket line,
because he believed the writers had made an agreement to allow late night shows
back on the air.
"My understanding is that there was
a special arrangement made for the late-night shows, and the writers have made
this agreement to let the late night shows to come back on, so I don't
anticipate that it's crossing a picket line," Huckabee told reporters traveling
with him Wednesday from Fort Dodge to Mason
City.
In fact, that is true only of David
Letterman, who has a separate agreement with writers for his "Late
Show."
[...]
The former Arkansas governor faced
an unfriendly reception.
A picketer outside the Burbank, Calif., studio where Leno tapes his show held
a sign saying, "Huckabee is a scab." Another picketer carried a sign saying,
"Huckabee, what would Jesus do?"
"I think it's just another reason
not to vote for him," said Allan Katz, a veteran TV writer who was
picketing.
Huckabee said he stood with the
writers.
"I support the writers, by the way.
Unequivocally, absolutely," he said. "They're dead right on this one. And they
ought to get royalties off the residuals and the long-term
contracts."
"I don't think anybody supports the
producers on this one," he added. "Maybe the producers support the producers,
but I think everybody in the business and even the general public supports the
writers."
Huckabee has been endorsed by the
International Association of
Machinists and Aerospace Workers and the New Hampshire affiliate
of the National
Education Association, a teacher's
union.
In response to Huckabee's
appearance, the Writers Guild of America, West issued the following statement:
The Writers Guild is disappointed
that Mike Huckabee crossed the WGA picket line today at NBC. We welcome the
statements of support he has made for striking writers, but we ask him to
respect our picket lines in the future and urge the media conglomerates to
return to the bargaining table to make a fair deal that will put writers and the
entertainment industry back to work.
On the CBS Evening News, correspondent Nancy Cordes
reported: "Mike Huckabee enjoys far more union support than any of his
Republican rivals, and yet, this afternoon, he snuck past a picket line at
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, its first night back on the
air, so he could appear on the show. It's a controversy he doesn't need one day
before the caucuses."
Yet, on NBC's Nightly News, the controversy surrounding
Huckabee's crossing
the picket line to
appear on The Tonight Show was never mentioned, despite
the numerous references to his appearance.
For instance, leading the January 2 broadcast, referring to Huckabee, Williams
noted that "[o]ne leading candidate left here [Iowa] today to tape The Tonight Show with Jay Leno." While reporting on the
candidates' "final pitch" in Iowa, Gregory
noted that "Huckabee left the trail today for Hollywood, an appearance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno." Mitchell
reported that Huckabee was "taking time out to go on the Jay Leno show, The Tonight Show." Also, in his report on
the late-night talk shows' return to the airwaves without their writers, Taibbi
noted that "most A-list
stars won't cross a picket line," but
it was only after interviewing a comedy writer that Taibbi mentioned Huckabee's
appearance. He never explicitly noted that Huckabee would be crossing a picket
line, much less that Huckabee's actions sparked
controversy.
From the January 2 edition of NBC's
Nightly News with Brian
Williams:
WILLIAMS: Tomorrow night, it will get under way; Iowans from all 99
counties in this state will begin to gather over coffee. They will caucus, and
their choices may change this nation's political path. In plain English, the
political situation here in Iowa is all over the place -- and so are the candidates, for that matter.
The polls show different leaders both here and nationally.
One leading candidate left here
today to tape The Tonight Show with Jay
Leno; yet another is on Letterman tonight. This is the all-out
sprint to the finish now. The time to close the deal, fire up the rallies, get
out the caucus-goers and hope for a boost leading into New Hampshire in just a
few day's time.
Our NBC News political team is here
with us on the ground tonight. We begin just behind us here in the convention
center with NBC's David Gregory. He is covering the Republican race.
[...]
[begin video
clip]
GREGORY: Barnstorming the state, the
candidates are making a final pitch. The message: show up.
HUCKABEE: And if you've got friends
or neighbors that won't vote for me, put all your snow in their driveway and
don't let them out tomorrow night.
GREGORY: You're not running as the
average Republican. You've got a slightly different appeal.
HUCKABEE: I want to help change our
party. I want us to be the
-- the
party of small business. I want us to be party that really
understands middle-class Americans and the struggle that they're
going through. That's who I came from.
GREGORY: Huckabee left the trail
today for Hollywood, an appearance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.
MITT ROMNEY: Frankly my focus is on
the caucuses here in Iowa. I think Mike is more concerned about the
caucus in Los
Angeles.
GREGORY: As Mitt Romney crisscrossed
the state today, NBC's Ron Allen was with him.
[end video
clip]
[...]
MITCHELL: And with Huckabee taking time out to go on the Jay Leno show, The Tonight Show, Hillary Clinton took time today to tape a cameo on David Letterman's show, reaching out to voters beyond Iowa -- Brian.
WILLIAMS: All right. Andrea Mitchell, on the Democratic side of this
race -- Andrea, thanks. All of this brings us right back to our Washington bureau chief, moderator of Meet
the Press, Tim Russert, with us here on our set here in the convention center in
Des
Moines.
Tim,
you've been going to several events; you've been on
the ground for a few days. You've met with just about every camp in this race, today. You told me earlier two qualities stand out.
RUSSERT: Intensity and uncertainty. Intensity: Brian, the amount of money
that's been spent.
And you see in those pieces from David and Andrea -- the husbands are here, the wives are here,
the children are here, the parents here. People are poring so much into
this.
Uncertainty: I've asked every campaign, "All right, totally
off the record, gut
check, deep down: What's going to happen?" They put their heads down, look up, and say, "I don't have a clue."
WILLIAMS:
How many ask you the same thing?
RUSSERT:
They don't know. And that's what makes this
so exciting.
[...]
[begin
video clip]
TAIBBI: But he [Leno] now returns to the air minus his writers, as will stable mate
Conan O'Brien and ABC's Jimmy Kimmel.
JOHN BOWMAN (WGA negotiating committee chairman): They were forced
to go back on the air. They have to or their staffs were going to be fired.
TAIBBI: Without writers, they won't
have their monologues or written skits, and most A-list stars won't cross a
picket line. So what's left?
JACKIE CLARKE: If you're a writer on
one of these shows --
TAIBBI: Comedy writer Jackie Clarke,
who's done a lot of extemporaneous humor, says it'll be interviews and ad-libbed
bits that can take even gifted comics only so far.
O'BRIEN:
What the hell was that?
CLARKE: They're doing an hour a
night, that's what, six
hours a week? Five hours a week? I'm a woman. I do woman math.
TAIBBI: Any writing, even comedy
writing, is hard labor. As one humorist put it to me some years ago, you just
sit in front of a keyboard while beads of blood form on your forehead.
Now, there'll be a test of just how important
writing is to late-night TV. Will Letterman generate more laughs
and viewers than the rival who had this joke when the strike began.
LENO: The writers are on strike.
Good night, everybody! Thank you!
TAIBBI: Or can Leno be competitive
with non-show biz feature guests, like Governor Mike Huckabee?
Will Conan still be Conan? This was
his return tonight with a new beard.
O'BRIEN: We have no writers and we
have an hour show, a one-hour show to do every night.
From the January 2 edition of the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric:
KATIE
COURIC (anchor): Good evening, everyone, from the
heart of America, where voters will soon have
the first say in choosing the next president.
On the eve of the Iowa caucuses, the
Democratic contest is shaping up to be a real heart-stopper. Polls indicate any of the top three
candidates could win.
There's a big surprise tonight in a new national
poll: John McCain of
Arizona has
risen like a phoenix to the top, now edging ahead of Rudy Giuliani.
And the recent Republican
front-runner here in Iowa -- Mike Huckabee -- has apparently stumbled again,
tripping over his tongue as some polls now show him trailing Mitt Romney.
We have a team of correspondents
deployed tonight to cover the final hours of the race here in Iowa. First, Nancy Cordes
with the Huckabee campaign --
Nancy, many are saying this is another gaffe
for the candidate.
CORDES: They are, Katie. Mike
Huckabee enjoys far more union support than any of his Republican rivals, and
yet, this
afternoon, he snuck
past a picket line at The Tonight Show with
Jay Leno, its first night back on the air, so he could appear on the
show. It's a
controversy he doesn't
need one day before the caucuses.
[begin
video
clip]
CORDES: It's publicity with a price.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think he's kind of stabbing some
people in the back.
CORDES: Earlier today, Huckabee said
he supported the striking writers, and mistakenly asserted that they had
settled.
HUCKABEE: My understanding is that
there was a special arrangement made for the late-night shows.
CORDES: But there is no arrangement
with The Tonight Show, and the
flap may feed perceptions that the former Arkansas governor isn't ready for prime time,
despite his strong support here in Iowa.
Published: Thu, 03 Jan 2008 23:27:06 GMT - Source: Mediamatters.Org - Read the article
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