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)
When you hear people criticizing Attorney General Barr, check and see how they reacted to Michael Avenatti. That will give you an idea how seriously to take them as judges of lawyers and the law.
— Brit Hume (@brithume) April 16, 2019
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.”
For the record, I thought Avenatti was a terrible Attorney General and said so at the time.
— Chris Hayes (@chrislhayes) April 16, 2019
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.”
You must think my tweet was about the two men. It was not. It was about the reactions to them. You might have some personal familiarity with that.
— Brit Hume (@brithume) April 16, 2019
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.
Yes, random plaintiffs lawyer and attorney general. Good comparison! https://t.co/DM27XUWkGH
— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) April 17, 2019
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.'”
Random plaintiff’s lawyer? Please. 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.” https://t.co/zE4IXV1RV8
— Brit Hume (@brithume) April 17, 2019
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.
Great snippet of video here. Boykin captures something key to the Daniels story. Whatever we learn about the underlying facts, Daniels and Avenatti have out-Trumped with Trump’s toolkit – providing a new shiny object for the press each day, repeatedly upping the ante … https://t.co/GsLYuraIkF
— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) March 17, 2018
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.