Brit Hume Compares Media Response To AG Barr And Michael Avenatti — Critics Balk

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Virginia Kruta Associate Editor
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Fox News senior political analyst Brit Hume met with mixed reviews when he compared the liberal media’s response to Attorney General William Barr and embattled defense attorney Michael Avenatti on Tuesday.

“When you hear people criticizing Attorney General Barr, check and see how they reacted to Michael Avenatti,” Hume tweeted. “That will give you an idea how seriously to take them as judges of lawyers and the law.” (RELATED: Michael Avenatti Appeared On CNN And MSNBC Over 100 Times In 10-Week Period In 2018)

MSNBC’s Chris Hayes responded with a joke, saying, “For the record, I thought Avenatti was a terrible Attorney General and said so at the time.”

Hume fired right back, pointing out the fact that he had not been talking about a direct comparison between the two men but a comparison that addressed “the reactions to them.”

Hayes hosted Avenatti just over a year ago in March 2018.

Josh Marshall of Talking Points Memo took a swing at Hume as well, criticizing the validity of the comparison. “Yes, random plaintiffs lawyer and attorney general. Good comparison!” he tweeted.

Hume reminded Marshall how he had initially responded to Avenatti. “Random plaintiff’s lawyer? Please” he said. “Avenatti was the most celebrated private lawyer in America for most of last year thanks to the adoring coverage he got from people including yourself. You called him ‘top-flight’ and boosted his claims as ‘exciting stuff.'”

Marshall interviewed Avenatti for his own podcast, and tweeted numerous times about how Avenatti and Daniels had essentially “out-trumped” the media and President Donald Trump.

Avenatti was a staple on cable news for a number of months, appearing over 100 times on CNN and MSNBC over the course of 10 weeks. Some pundits even encouraged him when he floated the idea that he might run for president as a Democrat in 2020.

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