A member of the House select committee investigating the January 6 riot at the Capitol phoned a CNN reporter to tell them the resignation of network President Jeff Zucker had them feeling “devastated over our democracy.”
The revelation comes via a Vanity Fair report Thursday.
The outlet notes that special correspondent Jamie Gangel took part in a meeting at CNN’s Washington bureau where journalists with the cable news network vented their frustration over Zucker’s departure with Jason Kilar, CEO of parent company WarnerMedia.
Toward the end of the meeting, Gangel told participants about phone calls she’s received.
“The first calls I got this morning were from four members of the January 6 committee, who felt devastated for our democracy, because Jeff was not going to be around to make sure that CNN is able to do its job,” she said.
Gangel later clarified that she meant “four congresspeople, including one member of the committee.”
“Gangel said she received calls from four members of the Congressional committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol ‘who felt devastated for our democracy’ now that Zucker has exited CNN.”https://t.co/vXHb6PuWvt
— Ben Jacobs (@Bencjacobs) February 4, 2022
January 6 Committee Member ‘Devastated’ Over Zucker’s Departure
“Devastated for our democracy.”
A network President was forced to resign allegedly over a secret relationship with a subordinate and that’s the end of democracy?
Because there simply aren’t any other left-leaning media companies out there to keep the journalistic balance in this country going forward should CNN now get worse ratings than they’ve already been suffering.
While there is a plethora of evidence that the select committee is biased against former President Trump, a panel member phoning a network reporter to offer condolences for the collapse of a hard left-leaning media outlet is yet another piece of that puzzle.
The notion that they have such a comfortable relationship with a CNN reporter and President is an indication of Zucker’s influence as a compliant DNC echo chamber.
“The first calls I got…were from four members of the January 6 committee, who felt devastated for our democracy, because Jeff was not going to be around to make sure that CNN is able to do its job” -Jamie Gangel
Best argument for leadership change yet: https://t.co/Vdr65zdkj3
— Steve Krakauer (@SteveKrak) February 4, 2022
Chaos at CNN
Aside from the January 6 committee member being devastated by Zucker’s resignation, other leaked details of the meeting are nothing short of entertaining.
Anchor Jake Tapper equated disgraced former colleague Chris Cuomo, whose investigation reportedly led to Zucker’s downfall, to a terrorist.
“He threatened, Jeff said we don’t negotiate with terrorists, and he blew the place up,” Tapper told Kilar. “How do we get past that perception, that this is the bad guy winning?”
NEW: Top CNN anchors, including Jake Tapper, grilled Jason Kilar tonight about Chris Cuomo’s connection to Jeff Zucker’s resignation. “He threatened Jeff. Jeff said we don’t negotiate with terrorists. And Chris blew the place up.”https://t.co/1kSQS2GFHn
— Ben Mullin (@BenMullin) February 3, 2022
Chief Domestic Correspondent Jim Acosta added another ‘Dear Diary’ entry by fretting that Zucker’s departure meant the network’s journalistic standards would erode.
He even suggested that without Zucker’s leadership all of the leftist reporters and anchors would have been so rudderless that they would have devolved into “Fox News lite.”
“If we had not had Jeff Zucker here during the Trump administration, we probably would have been taken out,” Acosta said. “You would have something like ‘Fox News lite’ on CNN right now, no offense.”
Many critics have attributed Trump’s rise in 2016 to CNN’s obsessive coverage of him.
“If we had not had Jeff here during the Trump administration, we would have probably been taken out and you would have something like Fox News lite on the air…” Acosta said. “It’s a rather delicate time, not just for this country but this business.” https://t.co/6YaxbgJal9
— Jay Rosen (@jayrosen_nyu) February 4, 2022
Chief White House Correspondent Kaitlan Collins agreed with Tapper’s assessment that Cuomo acted like a terrorist.
Chris Cuomo was fired in December following a New York Attorney General report regarding multiple sexual harassment claims against his brother, the disgraced former governor, in which he was alleged to have used media sources to track down information on sexual harassment accusers.
Reports surfaced almost immediately that Cuomo was preparing to sue CNN for $18 million following claims that Zucker knew all about the anchor’s efforts to help his brother fight off sexual misconduct allegations.
“I think the issue is that it’s not a perception. What Jake just described is actually what happened here,” Collins reportedly said.
“Chris Cuomo is a man scorned because he was fired for being held accountable for his actions, and Jeff is part of the result of this,” she added. “It sounds like you did not consult any other executives on removing a critical part of the company, and I think that’s the frustration here.”
CNN’s Jake Tapper, Kaitlan Collins, and Jim Acosta interrogated WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar over Jeff Zucker’s ouster at a tense meeting on Wednesday. We have leaked audio! https://t.co/OJqiwY8VTe
— Steven Perlberg (@perlberg) February 3, 2022
Reports have now surfaced that CNN is seeking to pay Cuomo $9 million – half of what he had been seeking – in an effort to convince him to drop his lawsuit.
The New York Post is reporting Cuomo could still file suit if the settlement offer isn’t to his liking.
