Krauthammer: Obama Counted On 'Minions in the Press' to Help Cover Up Gruber Scandal

Appearing on Fox News's Special Report Monday, columnist Charles Krauthammer suggested that the reason President Obama waited a week to comment on the Jonathan Gruber ObamaCare scandal was because the White House knew it could count on the liberal media to ignore the story: "...they've had six years experience of the press essentially conspiring with them....the administration issues statements, it uses Gruber reports, it's echoed by their minions in the press, then repeated by Democrats as if this is objective evidence..."

Krauthammer explained: "I think that they calculated the President could go a week without talking about it and then pretend he never heard of it because you wouldn't hear about it in the press. And in fact, except for Fox, you look at all the networks and you showed that last week, it's been a blackout....This is a scandal of the first order and they imagine they would actually get away with it."

Sharing an anecdote about the lack of coverage, Krauthammer described: "I remember reading, I think it was on Saturday, there was a story on this, probably the first time in the New York Times, on page 12 in a box way down at the bottom and the whole impetus of the story is, 'Republicans upset about' or 'criticizing about.'"

Minutes later, anchor Bret Baier denounced the press for censoring Gruber: "Here is guy who arguably is the linchpin for ObamaCare, paid by HHS, and yet, is cited as an independent, objective analyst by all kinds of news organizations and Capital Hill. And it does not get covered."

Krauthammer concluded: "The media investment in this is so total, that having not covered it when it was happening, meaning, citing him as an expert when he wasn't an expert, nobody even asked, 'Is this guy somehow involved?' And now, of course, not covering it is sort of amazing."

Also during the panel discussion, National Review's Jonah Goldberg condemned the "transmission belt of liberal journalists" [1] that had once touted Gruber.

Here are excerpts of Krauthammer on the November 17 Special Report:

6:43 PM ET

(...)

CHARLES KRAUTHAMMER: I think the President was not told about what's going on. And the reason is that they've had six years experience of the press essentially conspiring with them. And the amazing show of events that you just had in that piece in which the administration issues statements, it uses Gruber reports, it's echoed by their minions in the press, then repeated by Democrats as if this is objective evidence, is simply one example of it.

The other one is, I think that they calculated the President could go a week without talking about it and then pretend he never heard of it because you wouldn't hear about it in the press. And in fact, except for Fox, you look at all the networks and you showed that last week, it's been a blackout. I remember reading, I think it was on Saturday, there was a story on this, probably the first time in the New York Times, on page 12 in a box way down at the bottom and the whole impetus of the story is, "Republicans upset about" or "criticizing about." This is a scandal of the first order and they imagine they would actually get away with it.

(...)

6:53 PM

BRET BAIER: I want to quick give you a contrast, hold on. Let's look back to 2005. Remember radio talk show host Armstrong Williams, who was – the USA Today came out with a report that he was paid more than $200,000 to pitch No Child Left Behind. It was front-page news. It was, I remember, it was covered nonstop.

Here is guy who arguably is the linchpin for ObamaCare, paid by HHS, and yet, is cited as an independent, objective analyst by all kinds of news organizations and Capital Hill. And it does not get covered.

JONAH GOLDBERG: And now admitting that he lied to get this thing passed.

RON FOURNIER: To make your point, do you remember the controversy – and it was a legitimate controversy – over the generals who were on the dole to be promoting the war [in Iraq] and the media made a big deal out of that. And they realized that there was generals who were doing exactly what Gruber's doing.

BAIER: Charles?

KRAUTHAMMER: Look, the media investment-  

FOURNIER: Former generals, I'm sorry.

KRAUTHAMMER: The media investment in this is so total, that having not covered it when it was happening, meaning, citing him as an expert when he wasn't an expert, nobody even asked, "Is this guy somehow involved?" And now, of course, not covering it is sort of amazing.

(...)