Former MSNBC host Krystal Ball says Rachel Maddow and others at the network have “got some explaining to do” for their Russia coverage since 2016.
Former special counsel Robert Mueller’s testimony this week before lawmakers prompted Ms. Ball, now at The Hill, to rebuke her old network for the “damage” it’s done to modern liberalism’s reputation.
“After watching over seven hours of a spectacle that felt much more cruel than enlightening, I can no longer avoid pondering a question, which honestly gives me no joy to ponder,” Ms. Ball said Thursday for Hill.TV. “Just how much damage has MSNBC in particular done to the left? Now, this critique is not meant to be personal to the anchors and the commentators there, many of whom I know — some of whom are actually close friends having worked at that network for five years, but nearly all of whom got swept up in the ratings bubble that was feverish Russian conspiracy theories.”
Ms. Ball said that any man-made system is going to have problems, but that MSNBC’s coverage regarding President Trump’s 2016 campaign and the government’s Russia investigation was particularly egregious.
“I dare to say, some talent did drink more deeply of the Russia conspiracy than others,” Ms. Ball. “Rachel Maddow, you’ve got some explaining to do.”
The reporter concluded that issues that Americans should be concerned with regarding President Trump now look tame due to MSNBC’s coverage.
“By trying to make the spectacular case, we set the bar unimaginably high and made Trump’s actual corruption, broken promises, and casual cruelty seem ordinary by comparison,” she said.
Mr. Mueller’s 448-page reported concluded that no criminal dealings between Mr. Trump’s campaign and Russian operatives took place.
• Douglas Ernst can be reached at dernst@washingtontimes.com.
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