Blitzer asked if Levin was “giving aid and comfort to the enemy”

Written by Sarah Pavlus

Published


During a February 1 interview with Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI) about a Senate resolution co-authored by Levin that opposes President Bush's plan to increase the level of troops in Iraq, CNN Situation Room host Wolf Blitzer said to Levin: “On the right, though, a lot of your critics are saying, 'You know what you're doing, Senator? You're giving aid and comfort to the enemy, and you're undermining the U.S. military in Iraq, who are serving there right now.' ” Blitzer then aired comments by White House press secretary Tony Snow, who, while critical of the Senate resolution, did not say it was “giving aid and comfort to the enemy.” Blitzer did not name any “critics” who actually said that Levin was “giving aid and comfort to the enemy.”

Later during Blitzer's interview with Levin, CNN ran onscreen text reading “Aiding The Enemy?” under Levin's image.

CNN: Aiding the Enemy?

The U.S. Constitution states that "Treason against the United States" “shall consist only in levying war against them, or in adhering to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort.”

As Media Matters for America documented, Blitzer made similar comments to Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-CT) less than a month ago, when he suggested that Dodd was “in effect giving comfort to” Syrian President Bashar al-Assad during Dodd's recent visit to Damascus.

From the February 1 edition of CNN's The Situation Room:

LEVIN: Your reporter there made reference to MoveOn.org. MoveOn.org is a pretty -- has pretty much of a cross-section across the Democratic Party. And as she said, MoveOn.org supports, as they put it, the Warner-Levin language, because it is an important first step towards Congress blocking the escalation. So MoveOn.org, it seems to me, is a pretty good indicator of where an awful lot of Democrats and others in this country are.

BLITZER: On the right, though, a lot of your critics are saying, “You know what you're doing, Senator? You're giving aid and comfort to the enemy, and you're undermining the U.S. military in Iraq, who are serving there right now.” I want you to listen to the White House press secretary, Tony Snow.

SNOW [video clip]: Osama bin Laden thought the lack of American resolve was a key reason why he could inspire people to come after us on September 11th. I am not accusing members of the Senate of inviting carnage on the United States of America. I'm simply saying, you think about what impact it may have.

BLITZER: All right, have you thought about the impact your resolution will have?

LEVIN: We sure have. We sure have. Our troops deserve everything.