Eric Boehlert On MSNBC Live: The Press Treats Clinton Emails Like A “Never Ending Story”

From the September 8 edition of MSNBC's MSNBC Live:

Video file

MICHAEL ERIC DYSON (HOST): So Eric, Media Matters has been critical of The New York Times coverage of the Clinton email story. What's your reaction to this article about North Korea today? 

ERIC BOEHLERT: You know, I think as James said, The New York Times got it wrong from the very beginning and the Clinton campaign has been dealing with that since. You know, they put out the headline, page one, criminal referral. It wasn't a criminal referral. Now we're into this sort of interagency debate, you know, nothing we've seen was classified at the time Clinton received or sent, and now there is this debate going back and forth about maybe stuff should have been classified. 

John Kerry last week talked about the massive overclassification that goes on in the intelligence community. And, you know, we talk about The New York Times, I thought it was interesting that the Associated Press last week did a roundup of national security and legal experts, they couldn't find anyone who thought Clinton faced any kind of legal trouble on this. So, you know, we're sort of stuck on this never ending story.

DYSON: What about Susan's distinction between the legal and the political? Maybe legally she's in the clear. But what do you think about the political problems that are being generated as a result of it? 

BOEHLERT: Well I think this is just going to go on, because this is a perfect story for the press. You know, there is no definitive answer so they will just keep going. Trey Gowdy is going to keep pushing it in the Benghazi committee. You know, Bill Kristol of the conservative Weekly Standard a couple weeks ago kind of made a mistake and told the truth on Twitter. He said, Trey Gowdy is the Republican MVP of this campaign season. They clearly see that as essentially an extension of the RNC at this point. Opposition research, free. 

Related:

Legal Experts See No Criminal Trouble For Clinton Thus Far

Previously:

Intelligence Experts Debunk Speculation That Hillary Clinton Could Face Criminal Action For Email Use

Media Debunk Misinformation Surrounding Clinton's Use Of Private Email

Conservative Media's Fact-Challenged Comparison Between David Petraeus And Hillary Clinton


This headline has been updated for clarity.