If every Liberal Media Scream were like the one CBS legal reporter Jan Crawford delivered on Sunday’s Face the Nation, then we’d be handing out awards instead of scolds in our weekly feature.
For her “underreported” story of the year, Crawford cited the liberal media’s claim that the U.S. Supreme Court is a Trump-weighted rubber stamp, calling that a lie.
“Not only is that narrative overreported, it is patently false, and it is dangerous for the institution and the public’s faith and confidence in the rule of law,” said the court expert.
For that shocking bit of truth-telling, our grader Brent Baker, the vice president of research and publications at America’s media watchdog, the Media Research Center, said, “She’s earned applause for her courage.
From the annual year-end Face the Nation roundtable of CBS News journalists on Sunday:
MARGARET BRENNAN, HOST: Jan, underreported?
JAN CRAWFORD: There is a narrative that the Supreme Court is corrupt. I mean, we saw that emerge in the wake of the Dobbs [v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization] decision that overturned Roe v. Wade, and now we see that they’re in the tank for [President Donald] Trump. Not only is that narrative overreported, it is patently false, and it is dangerous for the institution and the public’s faith and confidence in the rule of law. This is a conservative Supreme Court. It has been a conservative Supreme Court for 20 years. People can disagree and do disagree with their opinions, but it’s profoundly wrong to call it or say corruption where there is, in fact, none.
What’s underreported is any understanding of what this court has been doing for the past 20 years: Its views of its role, vis-à-vis the other branches, how it sees the law, how it’s trying in its focus to restore some kind of accountability in our constitutional structure. Again, this is a court that is functional. It is consistent. They are nine justices. They don’t necessarily see the Constitution the same way, by any means, or how to interpret federal law. They’re in a struggle over the proper way to interpret the Constitution, but that is as it should be.
I think as we approach our 250th anniversary of this country, it’s important to think about the court and the rule of law as the justices are doing, especially if we hope to keep democracy intact.
BRENNAN: That’s a big statement, Jan. If we hope to keep democracy intact.
CRAWFORD: If the public loses confidence in the rule of law, I don’t know what that means for democracy. And that’s why I think some of the rhetoric about corruption is so, so profoundly irresponsible.
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Baker, the Steven P.J. Wood senior fellow and vice president for research and publications at the Media Research Center, explained our pick: “Some much needed year-end truth-telling from Crawford, a rare reporter within the Washington press corps willing to challenge the liberal assumptions of her colleagues. In this case, taking on the media-fueled presumption that any ruling that favors Trump is inherently corrupt when it’s really part of a much larger quest to determine the best balance amongst competing constitutional interests. She’s earned applause for her courage.”
Rating: FIVE out of FIVE screams.