MSNBC’S Joe Scarborough angrily denounced The New York Times for burying a new story on the Treasury’s internal investigation over the lost IRS emails, calling it a “scam” and explaining “this is why conservatives don’t trust print media.”
Co-host Mika Brzezinski had just wrapped up explaining another possible scandal for New Jersey Republican Governor Chris Christie, involving diverted funds for the Pulaski Skyway, when Scarborough pounced on the newspaper.
“Let’s see, so this is the top of The New York Times,” he began. “I’m trying to figure out where the IRS story — is it on the front page? Because actually, there was an investigation launched yesterday of the IRS — an internal investigation.”
“Im still loooking,” Republican strategist Nicolle Wallace said in singsong as she counted out pages without a mention of the IRS. “A10 . . . 11 . . . 12 . . .”
“I’m SURE that the Internal Revenue Service targeting individuals — private citizens and also political groups that were against the administration — would be on the front page, because they launched an internal investigation,” Scarborough snarked. “I’m SURE the New York Times would not let a story that big –”
“One of these stories is old news, and one of these stories is new news,” Democrat financier Steve Rattner protested.
“No, new news happened yesterday with the IRS,” Wallace hit back. “New enough to be on the television networks.”
“By the way, this is unbelievable,” Scarborough declared. “The Washington Post and The New York Times are not putting on the front pages of their newspapers that an internal investigation has been launched by the IRS on the most shady behavior –”
“Well it’s on page A19!” Brzezinski announced.
“And yet they put the Pulaski Skybridge, or whatever, on A1?” Scarborough asked.
“Pulaski Skyway,” Rattner offered helpfully.
“Whatever!” Scarborough replied angrily. “This is garbage.”
“I do like this piece, ‘Women leave their careers in peak years . . . ‘” Brezezinski said.
“You know, if George W. Bush or any Republicans had an IRS member that went after Democrats and then there was an internal investigation launched, you would not have time or space on the front page to talk about women’s issues,” Scarborough charged. “This really is a scam!”
“This is why conservatives don’t trust national newspapers,” he accused. “It’s why they don’t trust broadcast news. It’s because there’s a double standard, and you can see it on every broadcast newscast, you can see it on the front page of every major newspaper. This is a scam!”
“It’s not the news that they run — even though this is a joke of a story they put on the front page,” Scarborough explained. “It’s the stories they don’t run. It’s the omissions, the act of omissions when Democrats are in power. It’s stunning.”