Defending the indefensible

Created
Mon, 03/07/2023 - 09:00
Updated
Mon, 03/07/2023 - 09:00
There is nothing he could do to push them away: Right-wing media are standing by Donald Trump in the wake of a leaked tape of the former president admitting that he did not declassify documents taken from the White House and showing that Trump knew he could not retroactively declassify them, which contradicts a key part of his legal defense. […]l OAN played the portion of the tape of Trump saying, “This totally wins my case,” and included his dig at Hillary Clinton and Anthony Weiner before parroting his defense: “Trump blasted the FBI and the DOJ for quote, ‘illegally leaking and spinning the tape.’” [One America News, One America News, 6/27/23] Fox News host Sean Hannity spun Trump’s words to add plausible deniability: “That does not confirm for me whether or not specifically this document was declassified or not. Was that actually the real document, or was it a story he was telling?” [Fox News, Hannity, 6/26/23] On his radio show, Hannity claimed Trump’s leaked comments “don’t prove a thing as far as I’m concerned,” adding, “If you’re a conservative, you know, we’ve got a very different system of law.” [Premiere Radio Network, The Sean Hannity Show, 6/27/23] Real America’s Voice host Charlie Kirk downplayed the tape, saying, “If this is the best piece of evidence that [special counsel] Jack Smith has, this should infuriate you.” Kirk added, “We’re gonna try to put Donald Trump in prison for a hundred years because he ruffled some papers near a writer?” [Real America’s Voice, The Charlie Kirk Show, 06/27/23] On Rumble, Russell Brand…