| | | | Exec summary: While journalists flock to Helsinki for the Trump-Putin meeting, questions abound: Who has the upper hand in the meeting? What should John Roberts have done at Friday's presser?
And on other topics: Was Harvey Weinstein misquoted by an old friend? Will Sacha Baron Cohen's new show score a big audience? Are you ready for the World Cup final? Read on... | | This weekend's newscasts and newspapers will be looking ahead to the Trump-Putin meeting, especially in light of Friday's new indictments against 12 Russian intel agents. So I'm looking ahead to how the occasion will be covered.
Here's the sad truth: President Trump simply cannot be trusted. He has proven this practically every day by lying and contradicting himself. Vladimir Putin cannot be trusted, either. So how will the press and the public know what happens at this private meeting?
We have two unreliable narrators, to borrow a literary term. But we're in the business of providing reliable info. The journalistic challenge continues... | | Confronting the "gravity" of the new indictments | | Another challenge: Explaining the convoluted findings that are contained in the newest indictments.
"As scandal-weary as we are, we all need to take a deep breath to confront the gravity of the allegations that special counsel Robert Mueller brought on Friday," constitutional law professor Harry Litman writes in this new CNN.com op-ed. "A meticulously detailed complaint lays it out: Members of an enemy army engaged in a coordinated criminal enterprise to secretly sabotage an American presidential election. The attacks were sustained, professional and largely successful. It would appear to be the most nefarious attack by a foreign government on the United States since Pearl Harbor." | | | SO NOW WHAT? "Thanks to Robert Mueller, Trump and Putin now have a summit agenda," Susan Glasser writes... | | | And go back to Friday morning. Let's revisit the hours before the new indictments were revealed. This is a story in 7 parts... | | 1. Real interview, not "fake news" | | At a joint presser with Theresa May, Trump defaulted to his "fake news" dodge. When asked about the comments he made to Rupert Murdoch's The Sun, some of which were critical of May's Brexit plan, Trump accused the paper of leaving out his positive comments about May. "It's called fake news," he said.
The only thing "fake" here is Trump's deployment of the term "fake news." The Sun, of course, had already published audio recordings of key parts of the interview. Trump said his aides had their own recording of the interview and suggested the tape would prove him right: "We have the tape. You can ask Sarah. Get it from Sarah." So far, however, Sarah Sanders has not provided any tape, as Yahoo's Hunter Walker pointed out here... | | 2. Welker's wise question | | Trump also derided two of his usual targets, NBC and CNN, because NBC's Kristen Welker asked him a question he didn't like.
Welker's Q should be asked all weekend long: "Are you giving Russian president Vladimir Putin the upper hand heading into your talks, given that you are challenging these alliances that he seeks to break up and destroy?"
Because Trump criticized both NBC and CNN in his response, CNN's Jim Acosta tried to get a question in.
"No, no," Trump responded, calling the network fake. "I don't take questions from CNN," Trump said, even though he did take a question from CNN's Jeremy Diamond on Thursday... | | 3. What should John Roberts have done? | | After turning down Acosta, Trump called on the reporter next to him, Fox News' John Roberts. "Real news," Trump said, undercutting CNN and promoting Fox at the same time.
Right then -- in the moment -- Roberts had a chance to reject Trump's cynical attacks on the press. Roberts used to work at CNN. He could have said, "Mr. President, that's unfair to CNN." Or "Mr. President, none of my colleagues are fake." Or "Mr. President, you know better than this." He could have even passed the mic to Acosta.
But he didn't. He moved on and asked his own question. Many journalists expressed disappointment via social media. CNN's Jake Tapper tweeted that he is "old enough to remember when other networks came to the defense of Fox News WH correspondents during the Obama years. Such did not happen here. Lesson for the kids out there: no one should ever try to do the right thing with the expectation it will ever be reciprocated." | | Later in the day, Roberts sorta spoke up in CNN's defense, saying there are "some fine journalists" at the network. His statement notably praised Welker, saying, "She is honest as the day is long," but did not name or support Acosta in any way. CNN PR exec Matt Dornic called him out for that via Twitter: "Nice try, @johnrobertsFox. Your omission is glaring and your compliment backhanded. Next time try and show some class in the moment. And in your statement."
I'd still like to see Roberts address the broader topic, i.e., what to do when a president insults your competitors and then calls on you instead... There are spats between CNN and Fox all the time, but on this subject, there should be unity... | | ...And unity is what the White House Correspondents Association tried to convey through a midday statement. "Saying a news organization isn't real doesn't change the facts and won't stop us from doing our jobs," the association said.
Meanwhile, CPJ says Trump's smears are "music to the ears of dictators and authoritarian leaders..." | | Fifteen minutes after that joint presser ENDED, Mueller watch began in earnest. Just after 10am ET, the DOJ announced an 11:45 presser by Rod Rosenstein. Journalists across DC anticipated a new set of indictments.
Come 11:45, the cablers all had one eye on Trump's arrival at Windsor Castle, and another eye on the DOJ. Trump arrived to meet the queen right at 12:01. Rosenstein didn't start speaking til 12:11. It's enough to make you wonder if he waited a few extra minutes to avoid stepping on the arrival... | | 7. Trump still claims it's a "witch hunt" | | While announcing the indictments, Rosenstein said he briefed Trump earlier in the week. Suddenly, journos went back to the transcript of Trump's presser with May.
"I think that we're being hurt very badly by the -- I would call it the witch-hunt. I would call it the rigged witch-hunt," he had said just a couple of hours earlier.
"So," Jake Tapper said on CNN, "it would seem that President Trump believes that the issue here is not the cyber-attack by the Russians on the United States, but the U.S. Justice Department and the special counsel investigation into that cyber-attack. That's the only thing you can glean from that." | | >> CNN's Gloria Borger: "Did this week really start with a Supreme Court nominee?"
>> The BBC's Katty Kay: "I think our colleagues in the UK have just had a small taste of what it's like covering the Trump administration every day. It's like being in a spin dryer."
>> WashPost's Josh Rogin: "American reporters who took stories from Guccifer 2.0 or DC Leaks have to wonder if they weren't used as a tool of a foreign military intelligence operation against our country..." | | ABC, CBS and NBC joined the cablers in special report mode when Rosenstein spoke. He had sharp words for pundits, lawmakers, and others who speculate about federal probes. They "usually do not know all of the relevant facts," he said. "We do not try cases on television or in congressional hearings."
Immediately after the bombshell announcements, journalists like NBC's Chuck Todd raised questions about whether the Trump-Putin meeting would go on. But the White House says it will... | | Fox went a different way... | | | Oliver Darcy emails: When I was watching the breaking news coverage of the Mueller indictments, I was struck by one thing: CNN and MSNBC covered the news with reporters and legal experts. But over on Fox News? That network chose to cover the big breaking story with its usual array of pundits on "Outnumbered." Consider: The networks had a couple hours to prep for the presser. So why didn't Fox choose to break into special coverage with an anchor like Bret Baier or Shep Smith? | | On his show Friday night, Hannity asked, "Why announce these indictments today," on the eve of the Trump-Putin meeting? "To me this timing is suspect."
Putin is a "hostile actor," he said, but "what does this announcement today accomplish, other than keeping 'Russia Russia Russia' in the headlines ahead of the president's trip?" | | "Today is actually a significant moment in American history. We've only had 45 presidents. And here we now we know, that one of them was elected with the explicit and intentional help of a foreign power, in violation of American law, with the aggressive and open support of the candidate" who benefited from the crimes...
--Jeffrey Toobin on "AC360..." | | Remember those hideous DNC conspiracy theories? | | Oliver Darcy emails: Conspiracy theorists suggested last year, without evidence, that it was slain DNC staffer Seth Rich, not the Russians, who had been provided the trove of DNC emails to Wikileaks. Friday's 12 indictments make it EVEN more clear: That was not the case. It was, in fact, a sustained Russian effort to hack and distribute the emails. So I wondered, would any of the individuals who pushed that Seth Rich conspiracy theory apologize to the family? The family, of course, has said such theories caused them great pain and emotional distress. I called Newt Gingrich, who spread the theory on Fox News. When I asked Gingrich if he wanted to apologize, he replied, "No. Goodbye!" Gingrich then hung up the phone.
>> I also reached out to Fox News and asked if the network had a comment, and/or if it could say whether Sean Hannity was still continuing his "investigation" into Seth Rich. I never heard back... | | Trump's next interview is with... | | | ...ITV's Piers Morgan. He boarded Air Force One and taped an interview with POTUS on Friday... "30 mins on camera. To air on ITV," Morgan told me... It's slated to air on Monday, but expect some clips before then... | | Don't miss our podcast with Isikoff | | ICYMI: This week's "Reliable Sources" podcast episode is a look ahead to the Trump-Putin meeting. My guest: "Russian Roulette" co-author Michael Isikoff.
We also talked about the 2016 attack -- "and it was an attack," Isikoff said. "The word 'meddling' sometimes gets used. I don't think it quite does justice to the enormity of what was going on." Listen via Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or TuneIn... And here's Julia Waldow's recap... | | This Sunday on "Reliable Sources" | | | On Sunday, I'll be joined by Carl Bernstein, Sam Vinograd, Jonathan Chait, and Oliver Darcy... Plus "The Art of the Deal" co-author Tony Schwartz, NYT op-ed columnist Michelle Goldberg, "The Young Turks" host Cenk Uygur. See you Sunday at 11am ET... | | -- The World Cup final starts at 11am ET Sunday on Fox... Here's a look at the semi-final ratings... (Yahoo)
-- Sacha Baron Cohen's new series "Who Is America?" premieres on Showtime Sunday evening... I think some reviews/spoilers will start to pop Sunday morning...
-- Season two of "The History of Comedy" premieres Sunday night on CNN... | | -- Margaret Sullivan's latest: "Trump blasted reporting from Puerto Rico as 'fake news.' Heeding it might have saved lives." (WashPost)
-- Bernie Sanders knocked Disney CEO Bob Iger via Twitter Friday morning, asking if Iger has "a good explanation for why he is being compensated more than $400 million while workers at Disneyland are homeless and relying on food stamps to feed their families..." (TheWrap)
-- David Klein flagged this: "Shares of WWE rallied 3% Friday as Morgan Stanley raised its price target on the stock to $100 from $58. As WWE was trading around $76 on Friday morning, this means that analysts are predicting another 30 percent upside for the name..." (CNBC) | | Was Harvey Weinstein misquoted? | | Chloe Melas emails: This one raises many questions -- Harvey Weinstein gave his first interview since being accused of sexual misconduct and rape. He talked with an old pal, Taki Theodoracopulos of the UK's Spectator, with his lawyer Ben Brafman present.
The Spectator quoted Weinstein saying this: "Yes, I did offer them acting jobs in exchange for sex, but so did and still does everyone. But I never, ever forced myself on a single woman."
Now there's severe backpedaling going on. Brafman claims his client was misquoted and Taki is walking back the interview, claiming it was a "social visit."
"I believe that I may have misrepresented Harvey Weinstein's conversation with me in New York last month. It was my mistake," he said. What?! For now, The Spectator is not commenting...
>> THE GREAT UNKNOWN: Was the interview recorded? Is there a way to settle what Weinstein really said once and for all? | | By Julia Waldow:
-- Recommended: MSNBC's Chris Hayes is this week's guest on Isaac Chotiner's "I Have to Ask" pod... (Slate)
-- Bloomberg's Anousha Sakoui and Thomas Pfeiffer imagine what's going on the minds of Rupert Murdoch, Bob Iger, and Brian Roberts right now... (Bloomberg)
-- The NYT is rolling out an eye-catching marketing campaign for "The Daily" in Los Angeles, Portland, and Chicago... (Twitter) | | Scarlett Johansson won't play trans man in film, after all | | "Scarlett Johansson has opted to withdraw from a film in which she was set to play a transgender man after her casting drew criticism from the LGBTQ community," CNN's Sandra Gonzalez reports.
Johansson shared her decision in a statement to Out.com. She cited "recent ethical questions raised surrounding my casting." She also said she's thankful that "this casting debate, albeit controversial, has sparked a larger conversation about diversity and representation in film..." | | | Brian Lowry emails: As we have in the past with white actors playing people of color -- a common practice in the 1950s and '60s -- we appear to be crossing a threshold in terms of the perceived acceptability of cisgender performers playing transgender characters. Hence the pressure on Johansson to withdraw from "Rub & Tug," a decision that might have been heightened by the whitewashing charges the actress faced for her role in "Ghost in the Shell..." | | Why The Rock is "a franchise unto himself" | | Frank Pallotta writes: One of Hollywood's most dependable franchises has a new film this weekend. That franchise? Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson.
The star, who has "Skyscraper" opening this weekend, has stood out in an industry dominated by franchises by becoming a franchise himself. He's made nearly $10 billion worldwide and is a year-round brand, so will that pay off at the box office this weekend? We'll see... | | ...But is there a risk of "overexposure?" | | | Brian Lowry emails: If "Skyscraper" comes in below expectations, as looks possible, it might have something to do with the ubiquity of its star, headlining his fourth movie in 13 months, with his TV show, "Ballers," returning in August... | | Brian Lowry emails: "Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation" should again be a significant moneymaker this weekend, but the latest animated adventure is, with apologies to Dracula and his pals, pretty lifeless. The same largely applies to Rob Reiner's "Shock and Awe," a well-intentioned look at Knight Ridder's go-it-alone role in the run-up to the Iraq war. Debuting in theaters this weekend after an on-demand run, it's a timely boost to the importance of journalism that doesn't entirely work as a movie...
>> Also flagging a couple of smaller movies of note opening this weekend: "Eighth Grade," a sensational coming-of-age story; and "He Won't Get Far on Foot," Gus Van Sant's biopic, anchored by Joaquin Phoenix's performance as quadriplegic cartoonist John Callahan.. | | | For the record, part three | | | Lisa Respers France emails:
-- A "Downton Abbey" movie is happening... with the cast from the TV show...
-- Henry Cavill has apologized after there was a #MeToo backlash to some of his comments in an interview...
-- Stan Lee posted a video to let fans know he's back and pledges to stay in touch more...
| | Thanks for reading! Email your likes, dislikes, thoughts straight to me: brian.stelter@turner.com
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