Fox & Friends Ignores Sondland’s Quid Pro Quo Admission During Segment on Transcript Release
Producers of Fox & Friends made the curious yet entirely predictable editorial decision to cover yesterday’s bombshell release of deposition transcripts in a manner that was entirely beneficial to President Donald Trump, but also remarkably incomplete — if not dishonest.
The transcript of the revised testimony of Gordon Sondland that was released showed that the E.U. Ambassador was aware of the Trump administration’s specific desire to get Ukraine to announce an investigation into former Vice President Joe Biden in exchange for congressionally approved military aid that the White House was holding up. In other words, a quid pro quo.
But transcripts for Kurt Volker were also released, in which the NATO ambassador said, “you asked about conversations I had about quid pro quo, et cetera. None, I didn’t know there was a quid pro quo.” Guess which transcripts became the focus of the segment and which got ignored?
Sondland revealed during an updated testimony in which his memory had been refreshed that “he told a top Ukrainian official that the country likely would not receive American military aid unless it publicly committed to investigations President Trump wanted.”
But the segment was introduced by co-host Steve Doocy without citing Sondland by name, nor his bombshell claim that there was a quid pro quo, instead of focusing on Volker’s lack of awareness. Got it? Well, viewers were likely just as confused as the segment quickly turned into an interview with former Whitewater prosecutor Robert Ray, who then proceeded to dismiss Sondland’s words, without ever citing him or quoting the specific comments.
Ray said “when he uses words like ‘likely’ what was occurring and ‘I presumed that the two were related,’ that doesn’t suggest to you what the law requires, which would have to be a complete and unmistakable exchange for one thing for the other if you are ever going to talk about quid pro quo as the bribery and extortion statutes.”
To be clear, Ray dismissed Sondland’s damning testimony, though the specifics were ignored during the introduction. Curious!
Ray’s dismissing of Sondland’s comments without context or a fair portrayal of the political nature of impeachment proceedings, and not the criminal standards, are remarkable on face value, especially given Doocy’s past position on quid pro quo.
On September 24th, Doocy said to Fox & Friends viewers, “If the president said I will give you the money but you have got to investigate Joe Biden, that is really off the rails wrong.”
According to transcripts released Tuesday, the Trump-appointed ambassador, who donated $1 million to the Trump inauguration fund, made that exact claim. That very important detail, however, didn’t merit clear explanation or even direct mention on the very pro-Trump, and yes, top-rated, cable news morning show.
Watch above via Fox News.
