by Dan Gainor
This is a perfect storm for the press which has done everything it can for years to protect Hunter Biden
The story the legacy media tried for years to suppress is back with a vengeance. Hunter Biden, the president’s oft-troubled son, is once more in the news and not in a good way. An IRS criminal supervisory agent requested whistleblower protection, claiming the five-year Hunter Biden investigation is being impacted by "preferential treatment and politics."
To make things worse for the press, the White House responded to the allegations just days before President Joe Biden is reportedly announcing his re-election campaign. White House spokesman Ian Sams told Fox News Digital that the president has stood by his commitment for Justice Department "independence" and that the investigation is "free from any political interference."
This is a perfect storm for the press which has done everything it can for years to protect Hunter Biden from embarrassing coverage or news that might hurt his father. Now journalists are stuck at least acknowledging the crisis. That doesn’t mean they will cover it fairly.
Still, news eked out in the coverage. Such as the fact that I.R.S. and F.B.I. agents reportedly want to bring charges against Hunter Biden. Or that the whistleblower claims to have information that would "contradict sworn testimony by a senior political appointee." CBS said, "that was Attorney General Merrick Garland."
Maybe that explains why the investigation has lasted longer than a presidential term. News types might ask that question, but only if Biden had an "R" after his name.
CBS led the way for the broadcast networks with a story April 19, as the news broke. Both ABC and NBC followed the next morning with their own takes on the news.
Thursday morning, NBC spent only 36 seconds on the story. That’s like covering a forest fire with a glass of water, but they still did it.
ABC’s "Good Morning America" devoted more than three times that with fill-in co-host Rebecca Jarvis declaring, "ABC News learning the president’s son is allegedly getting preferential treatment." That’s quite the step-up for a show ordinarily a Democrat mouthpiece run by anchor and former official Democrat mouthpiece George Stephanopoulos.
The Washington Post ran with a straight investigation story on Wednesday under the headline, "Whistleblower claims administration is mishandling probe of Biden’s son." Notably absent from the headline was mention of Hunter Biden.
By Thursday, the Post tried another tactic, mentioning Hunter in a PR piece about him assuming a larger role in the president’s campaign. The paper’s whole argument was that Hunter Biden aiding his father’s campaign is a good thing – despite all of his scandals. As the Post put it, Hunter, "after years of listening to his father’s advisers counseling a low profile, is now willing to take a more public posture."
"Hunter Biden takes on higher profile amid investigations" waited 12 paragraphs to note the new allegations. The article quoted the president and his son a combination of 15 times, along with a couple Biden supporters. It cited the whistleblower’s lawyer just once and Kentucky Republican Rep. James Comer twice.
This was the paper glossing over a son who makes the stories about Jimmy Carter’s brother Billy laughable by comparison. (At least, Billy Carter preferred to drink his refreshments and brought us the classic "Billy Beer.") Instead, Hunter is portrayed as the dutiful son keeping his senile father in line, literally.
That results in this exchange: "‘You’re supposed to do the rope line, Dad,’ the son said. ‘I’m supposed to do the rope line?’ the father responded. ‘Just to say hi to everybody,’ the son offered."
A more accurate portrayal of the incident might note that the leader of the free world is being led around by his unelected, formerly drug-addled son. Hardly comforting.
The New York Times downplayed the news and ran with, "I.R.S. Official Is Said to Assert Political Meddling in Hunter Biden Inquiry." Fifteen paragraphs into the Times piece, the paper admitted, "I.R.S. and F.B.I. agents have complained for months that they have enough evidence to bring a case against Hunter Biden." The paper added the question is "whether a less prominent person would be charged with a crime in the same circumstances."
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Both papers lacked the typical venom they use in stories attacking Republican politicians, but they still had to write them.
Shocker, I know.
Now, the question is how the press will handle this embarrassing situation going forward. Will they try to bury the story six-feet under like they did with Hunter’s laptop prior to the election? Or will they allow more coverage, reflecting Democrat Party sentiment that Biden needs to be pushed aside and Hunter Biden could be just the man to do it.
Either way, you can bet most reporting won’t have anything to do with journalism. Instead, it will be either a way to protect Biden’s re-election or push him aside so another, more-electable Democrat can take over.
Dan Gainor is a freelance opinion editor for Fox News Digital.
Source: https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/embarrassing-thing-hunter-biden-whistleblower-reveals-about-media
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