CNN's Koch recalled “controversial” Pelosi Syria trip without noting GOP double standard in attacks

Written by Rob Dietz

Published


On the May 25 edition of CNN's The Situation Room, during a report on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's (D-CA) trip to Greenland, correspondent Kathleen Koch said that Pelosi's “last holiday break in the Middle East drew heated condemnation for her controversial visit with Syria's president,” Bashar Al-Assad. But Koch did not report that Republicans criticized the Pelosi trip even though a Republican-led delegation had met with Assad three days before Pelosi's visit and Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) met with him a day after. She also did not mention that a Republican -- Rep. David Hobson (OH) -- was part of Pelosi's delegation, as Media Matters for America has repeatedly noted.

As Media Matters has noted, according to the Dayton Daily News, Hobson said of the trip: “We reinforced the administration's positions and at the same time we were trying to understand and maybe getting some voice to some things people wanted to say that maybe they were not comfortable saying to the administration. The jury's out ... but this was not an anti-administration trip at all. ... I think actually we've helped the administration's position by showing there's not dissension.”

In its coverage of Pelosi's trip to Syria, CNN labeled it a "big wet kiss to President Al-Assad," a "political stunt," and a "bad trip," and frequently noted Republican criticism of the trip without mentioning Hobson or the Republican-led delegation, as Media Matters documented.

From the May 25 edition of CNN's The Situation Room:

KOCH: Well, Wolf [Blitzer, host], since becoming speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi has been getting increasingly involved in world affairs. Her most recent trip was focused on diplomacy; this one, literally, on saving the planet.

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KOCH: When it comes to her congressional holiday recess, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is going from the frying pan into the freezer. Her last holiday break in the Middle East drew heated condemnation for her controversial visit with Syria's president.

Now, Pelosi and other House members will be cooling their heels on the ice-covered island of Greenland. First stop for the group: a research station camped out on a massive ice sheet. Their host, a Swiss camp, told us via satellite phone that the lawmakers will get plenty of help dealing with the frigid weather.