***To read the full blog, please check out the complete post on NewsBusters***
With the first day of opening arguments for the impeachment trial still unfolding, CBS Evening News anchor Norah O’Donnell kicked off her show on Wednesday by singing the praises of the Democratic impeachment managers. With an announcement of “breaking news” at the top of the opening teases, O’Donnell boasted: “The Democrats prosecuting the President open the Senate trial in dramatic fashion.”
Her 31-second tease for their impeachment stories set the tone for their coverage:
NORAH O’DONNELL: Breaking news tonight: Making their case. The Democrats prosecuting the President open the Senate trial in dramatic fashion.
REP. ADAM SCHIFF (D-CA): If this conduct is not impeachable, then nothing is.
O’DONNELL: Accusing him of abusing his office in an effort to make sure he could keep it.
SCHIFF: President Trump withheld hundreds of millions of dollars in military aid to secure foreign help with his re-election. In other words, to cheat.
O’DONNELL: Tonight, the three key dates House managers now say prove the President's guilt.
“The Democrats prosecuting the President say it comes down to this: President Trump tried to use the powers of his office to cheat an election,” she proclaimed when the teases were finally over and they got to the story.
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