CNN anchor Jake Tapper is earning scorn from the left and praise from the right over his commentary on John Durham, a Trump-era special counsel, and his report reviewing the investigation of the former president’s ties to Russia.
“Regardless, the report is here, it has dropped,” Tapper said Monday during his nightly newscast on CNN. “And it might have not produced everything of what some Republicans hope for, it is regardless devastating to the FBI, and to a degree it does exonerate Donald Trump.”
“It is possible that the FBI had legitimate cause for concern and it is also possible that some individuals in the FBI got ahead over their skis and were not as professional as they should have been,” he added later during his show.
Durham’s findings, released Monday after a years-long investigation, conclude that “the FBI’s handling of important aspects of the Crossfire Hurricane matter were seriously deficient,” using the FBI’s name for its investigation into former President Trump and possible ties to Russia during his 2016 campaign.
Republicans cheered Tapper’s remarks, citing it as a rare acknowledgement from a mainstream media figure that Trump is targeted by what they view as biased federal law enforcement officials, or a so-called “deep state.”
“Did you ever think you’d hear that on CNN? ‘It does exonerate Donald Trump’ … The last person you’d think to do that,” Fox News morning host Brian Kilmeade said Tuesday.
More CNN coverage from The Hill:
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- ‘CNN went in the tank’ to get Trump to agree on town hall, Christie says
- The Memo: How CNN gave Trump his best campaign moment so far
- Trump shares fake video of Anderson Cooper reacting to CNN town hall
- Frustration at CNN boils over with Trump town hall
The Republican National Committee sent a tweet minutes after Tapper’s comments, highlighting the anchor’s characterization of the report’s findings .
On the political left, Tapper took some flak.
“[Jake Tapper] says the Durham Report is ‘devastating to the FBI.’ It isn’t. Not even close. No charges, just partisan ‘conclusions’,” tweeted Keith Olbermann, the bombastic former cable news host frequently critical of leading industry figures. “And Tapper of the new non-journalistic Chris Licht CNN is propagandizing.”
Occupy Democrats, the grassroots liberal political action organization, also chimed in on Twitter, saying “shame on Jake Tapper for reporting that it’s “devastating to the FBI” and “does exonerate Donald Trump.” This report is a nothing burger and nobody cares.”
CNN’s editorial bend has been under a microscope over the last year, since new president Chris Licht took over at the network and implemented a series of personnel and programming changes as he and the media company’s leaders aim to change its image with conservatives and Trump supporters.
The network is also looking to rebound in the ratings, after taking a loss to smaller conservative channel Newsmax in prime time Friday night.
The dynamic came to a head last week, when CNN hosted a widely watched town hall with Trump that at times went off the rails; in front of a supportive crowd, Trump reiterated about his unfounded theories of voter fraud and mocked writer E. Jean Carroll, the day after a jury found he had sexually abused her in the 1990s.
The town hall miffed some high-profile staffers at CNN, The Hill previously reported, though Licht has defended the event and his network’s coverage of the president more generally.