*To read the full blog, please check out the complete post on NewsBusters***
Just before the Big Three Networks (ABC, CBS, and NBC) went live Monday night, The Washington Post reported that anonymous sources told them President Donald Trump shared classified intelligence with top Russian officials. All three of them rushed to the breaking story and led their programs with it. “Loose lips at the White House? Did the President reveal highly classified information to the Russians in the Oval Office,” speculated Anchor Scott Pelley during the opening tease for CBS Evening News. But they didn’t always care when classified intel was mishandled, Hillary Clinton was a prime example.
“Tonight The Washington Post is reporting that President Trump revealed highly classified information to the Russian foreign minister and the Russian ambassador to the United States when the men met at the White House last week,” Pelley began the show by announcing, before noting that it was information about ISIS plots.
CBS leaned heavily on trying to point out an irony in Trump’s past criticisms of his opponent Hillary Clinton. “Mr. Trump's relentless criticism of Hillary Clinton's handling of classified information may be the main reason that he's president today,” Pelley noted as he handed the story off to Justice Correspondent Jeff Pegues who continued to harp on that point:
During the campaign, you may recall that candidate Trump was critical of Hillary Clinton, who the FBI said mishandled classified information on her private e-mail server. Back in July, Mr. Trump tweeted this: "Crooked Hillary Clinton and her team were extremely careless in their handling of very sensitive, highly classified information. Not fit."
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