On Wednesday, CNN’s “New Day” devoted nearly 200 times more coverage to alleged scandals involving Donald Trump than it did to the revelation of a secret $400 million payment the Obama Administration sent to Iran on the same day the country released four American prisoners.
According to the Media Research Center, “New Day” spent 1 hour, 24 minutes and 18 seconds giving Trump negative coverage — nearly half of the show’s three hour (6:00 am-9:00 am, EST) timeslot.
The total time devoted to the $400 million payment? 27 seconds.
![(Media Research Center)](http://www.newsbusters.org/s3/files/styles/blog_body-70/s3/images/2016-08-03-cnn-new_day_coverage.jpg?itok=0UIcr7YN)
(Media Research Center)
“New Day” discussed a variety of negative Trump stories, ranging from his feud with the Khan family and non-endorsements of House Speaker Paul Ryan and Sen. John McCain, to comments on how he thought his daughter, Ivanka, would handle sexual harassment in the workplace.
Conversely, John Berman’s 27 second brief on the $400 million Iran payment centered heavily on the White House’s defense.
![CNN (Shutterstock)](https://dailycaller.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/shutterstock_379376053-2.jpg)
CNN (Shutterstock)
“The White House insists there was no quid pro quo, but the Wall Street Journal reports that a secret $400 million payment to Iran coincided with the release in January of four Americans,” he explained. “A State Department spokesman says the money for Iran was related solely to the settlement of a suit dating back to a 1970s arms deal. He says those negotiations were completely separate from discussions about bringing the Americans home.”
Berman noticeably left out the fact that the payment was made with literal piles of foreign currency.
Under the United States’ current sanctions against Iran, it is illegal to conduct business with the country in U.S. currency.