Topic: Media Research Center
It was a bit of a slow time for news around the Independence Day holiday, so when news of a small amount of cocaine being discovered in the White House was reported, the Media Research Center latched onto it like, well, an addict on a bender and -- as a manifestation of its Hunter Biden Derangement Syndrome -- it rushed to blame Hunter for it despite having absolutely no evidence to support such a claim. Curtis Houck kicked off the madness in a July 5 post:
Believe it or not, but the “big three” networks of ABC, CBS, and NBC each covered on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning the disturbing discovery of cocaine inside the West Wing of the White House with a news brief, partial segment, or full report. But despite the six minutes and 25 seconds of coverage and even a few jokes, there hasn’t been a mention of Hunter Biden.
CBS and NBC, however, have dutifully accepted the spin of the Biden regime put out in the press, which is the implication that the cocaine had to have been left by a tourist on a trip around the White House and not, say, the First Family, a staffer, or even — gasp — a journalist. If this happened under a Republican president, there’s no doubt this would be covered differently.
Later in the day, Ana Schau complained that CNN didn't treat the story with the gravity she insisted it deserved (and wouldn't rush to blame Hunter):
CNN News Central’s Wednesday morning coverage of the cocaine found at the White House over the weekend was short, but telling of their opinion of the matter. After anchor John Berman discussed selective aspects of the matter with White House correspondent Priscilla Alvarez, anchors Sara Sidner and Kate Bolduan joked about the matter and made light of it, saying that it’s not “too soon” for them to poke fun about it.
The segment began with Berman breaking the news of the lab confirmation that the white powdery substance discovered in the White House was, in fact, cocaine. He was quick to note, however, that President Biden was not present at the White House when it had been discovered, seeming to dismiss any relation between Biden and his family and the cocaine.
[...]
Considering that Hunter Biden, a known and self-acknowledged drug addict, had recently spent time at the White House before these drugs had been found, it seemed like it shouldn’t be too difficult to speculate where they may have come from. Something like this likely would have been their first guess if Donald Trump was still president.
P.J. Gladnick similarly complained there wasn't a rush to judgment on Hunter:
Gee! Isn't that a shame?
Despite the fact that the White House is probably the most intensely video-surveilled building on the planet, an official with the investigation wants us to believe that the public shouldn't expect the discovery of the culprit who left cocaine there just this past weekend. At least that is what the utterly skepticism-free Politico reporter Daniel Lippman is relaying to his readers on Wednesday in "White House cocaine culprit unlikely to be found: Law enforcement official."
While Gladnick didn't actually reference Hunter by name, his post was illustrated with a photo of Hunter and received a "Hunter Biden" tag.
Kevin Tober served up his own demand for a rush to judgment on Hunter:
After predictably ignoring Hunter’s possible role in the appearance of a small bag of cocaine found inside the West Wing of the White House, the “big three” evening newscasts of ABC, CBS, and NBC kept up their silence on Hunter Biden. Failing to mention his name once during each of their reports Wednesday evening. This was despite the fact that the son of the President was a well-known user of cocaine and was reported to be at the White House approximately 48 hours prior to the discovery. Despite the refusal to broach the subject of Biden’s crackhead son, there was plenty of water carrying for the Biden regime’s various explanations and speculation about how cocaine was brought into the White House.
Tober returned to whine in a post the next day:
Despite a new update Thursday in the ongoing "cocainegate" scandal in which a small bag of cocaine was left inside with West Wing of the White House in a different location than was originally reported, ABC's World News Tonight and CBS Evening News both lost interest in the story, while NBC Nightly News only managed to dedicate 41 seconds during their evening newscast. The three networks often have a habit of moving on quickly from any scandals involving Democrats. You can be certain if Donald Trump Jr. was a well-known crackhead and a bag of cocaine was found in the Trump White House, this story would still be leading the three evening newscasts.
Nicholas Fondacaro somehow managed to avoid referencing Hunter in a July 7 post:
The White House is one of the most secure and surveilled facilities in America but apparently, the Secret Service may be unable to determine who left a baggie of cocaine in the West Wing. Being unable to determine who was responsible was an insane proposition that left CNN This Morning unfazed Friday as co-anchor Poppy Harlow and White House correspondent Priscilla Alvarez primed their viewers to not expect someone to be held accountable.
Needless to say, none of these writers provided a scintilla of evidence linking Hunter to the cocaine. That's irresponsible partisan activism, not "media research."
