Media firefighters abandon Cassidy Hutchinson's actual testimony in favor of Liz Cheney's dramatic interpretation

Cassidy Hutchinson has gone from being an unknown to a veritable Resistance celebrity and icon in near-record time, thanks to her testimony during the January 6 committee hearings yesterday. And we don’t begrudge her that, of course. Let her enjoy it.

But is it too much to ask that the media try a little harder to keep their unbridled enthusiasm in check and cover her testimony somewhat accurately? Evidently the answer to that question is “yes.” Here’s how the Washington Post’s Carol Leonnig chose to cover a particular part of Hutchinson’s testimony:

Now we know why Mo Brooks was wearing a bullet proof vest!

— Jay 🇺🇸🇺🇦🏳️‍🌈 (@blueboy_34) June 28, 2022

Yeah, now we know.

We know that Carol Leonnig is so starved for a silver bullet to nail Donald Trump that she’s willing to take some journalistic liberties in her reporting:

The emphasis on the word ***me*** came from Liz Cheney today, not from Cassidy Hutchinson’s recorded testimony. https://t.co/v9YuXKRU7L

— Jerry Dunleavy (@JerryDunleavy) June 28, 2022

It’s only one word, “me.” But it’s a consequential one. And if it was Liz Cheney who emphasized it and not Cassidy Hutchinson, Leonnig is lying to her readers by failing to acknowledge that.

Yes. See tweet re president encouraging allowing armed people to go to Capitol.

— Carol Leonnig (@CarolLeonnig) June 28, 2022

You’re saying yes and so you agree with me, and yet you included the emphasis inside of quotes from Hutchinson, even though the emphasis was made by Cheney. https://t.co/bTbAV8Mc7o

— Jerry Dunleavy (@JerryDunleavy) June 28, 2022

Pants on fire, Carol. You, too, Bulwark gutter-dweller Christian Vanderbrouk:

that makes it much better https://t.co/QJ60OF4iW2

— Christian Vanderbrouk 🇺🇸🇺🇦🌻 (@UrbanAchievr) June 28, 2022

“They’re not here to ***hurt*** me” and “They’re not here to hurt ***me***” have different meanings. Hutchinson said the first, it was Liz Cheney who said the second. Accuracy matters, even when it is about January 6th and the Capitol riot. https://t.co/Uey9QTHXWb

— Jerry Dunleavy (@JerryDunleavy) June 28, 2022

We know that Christian has a narrative to push, but if he has as much integrity as he claims to have as a member of The Bulwark, he should really cop to his deception.

Same goes for NBC/MSNBC legal analyst Glenn Kirschner, who, in a shocking turn of events, also dishonestly represented Hutchinson’s remarks:

When Trump wanted to lead the armed attack on the Capitol, saying, “they’re not here to hurt ME”, that’s evidence – an admission – that Trump KNEW that the mob was there to hurt the people certifying Biden’s win. And he intended to lead them on that mission.

— Glenn Kirschner (@glennkirschner2) June 28, 2022

If the case against Donald Trump is so compelling, there should be no need to add artistic flourishes to Hutchinson’s testimony. Why can’t they let it speak for itself, instead of letting Liz Cheney do all the talking?

Once again — in Cassidy Hutchinson’s testimony, she does not emphasize the word ***me*** — that emphasis was added by Liz Cheney today. It is all there on video. But Cheney adding that emphasis led to this viral tweet by a former federal prosecutor & current MSNBC legal analyst. https://t.co/kW8vCzte6L

— Jerry Dunleavy (@JerryDunleavy) June 29, 2022

The false narrative really has gone viral. It’s all over the place. Politico, too:

It’s hard to imagine how Tuesday’s surprise hearing of the House Jan. 6 committee could’ve been more damning for President Donald Trump.

The latest in Playbook: https://t.co/YHJheuEQwc

— POLITICO Playbook (@playbookdc) June 29, 2022

The latest in Playbook:

Sigh.

Politico Playbook has joined the group of folks who have wrongly added an emphasis to the word ***me*** in this alleged quote. Hutchinson’s testimony which was shown didn’t include this emphasis on the word “me” — the emphasis was added by Liz Cheney during the hearing yesterday. https://t.co/WdiGuF4HKY pic.twitter.com/nqfdMHX1kG

— Jerry Dunleavy (@JerryDunleavy) June 29, 2022

No doubt there are many other journalists and outlets who have chosen to do the same thing, not realizing that they do it and undermine the very narrative they’re so desperately trying to advance.

It’s also unfortunate for them that actual journalists like Jerry Dunleavy (who’s been on quite a roll lately, by the way) are paying attention and ready to call them out.