***To read the full blog, please check out the complete post on NewsBusters***
On Wednesday, media outlets began reporting of a draft Justice Department Inspector General report floating around that was highly critical of former FBI Director James Comey and former Attorney General Loretta Lynch. But come Thursday evening, both CBS and NBC failed to mention it even though they each had the opportunity to report the development during two of evening broadcasts and their morning shows.
The IG report was said to have found that Comey was warned not to notify the public he reopened the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s e-mails in October 2016, but he did it anyway. Of course, ABC, which was the only network to mention the news, pounced on it to push the suggestion it might have had an influence on the outcome of the election.
During ABC’s first report, on Wednesday evening’s World News Tonight, chief Justice correspondent Pierre Thomas somberly went through the timeline of that dreary day for Clinton:
Hillary Clinton was on a flight to Iowa when it happened. FBI Director James Comey revealing he had reopened the investigation into her e-mails, a stunning October surprise just 11 days before the election. (…) Clinton huddled with aides for nearly an hour. (…) President Trump, now one of Comey's biggest critics, at the time, heaped praise on the director.
All that before getting to what the report found.
(...)