NBC host Chuck Todd apologized on-air Tuesday for playing a deceptively edited clip of Attorney General Bill Barr on “Meet the Press” Sunday, although he appeared to defend the network by alleging that it “was not our edit.”
The clip showed Barr being asked by CBS News’ Catherine Herridge how the decision to dismiss former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn’s case will be viewed upon looking back. Todd’s clip showed Barr responding by saying that “history is written by the winners, so it largely depends on who’s writing the history.”
Todd chastised Barr for the comment Sunday, saying Barr “didn’t make the case that he was upholding the rule of law.” However, the partial clip that NBC News played did not show that Barr did, in fact, say that the decision “upheld the rule of law.”
“In the full version of the interview and transcript, he [Barr] went on to say, ‘But I think a fair history would say that it was a good decision because it upheld the rule of law,’” Todd said Tuesday on “MTP Daily.” “Now, we did not edit that out. That was not our edit. We didn’t include it because we only saw the shorter of two clips that CBS did air.”
“We should have looked at both and checked for a full transcript. A mistake that I wish we hadn’t made and one that I wish I hadn’t made. The second part of the Attorney General’s answer would have put it in the proper context. Had we seen that part of the CBS interview, I would not have framed the conversation the way I did, and I obviously am very sorry for that mistake. We strive to do better going forward.”
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Todd’s apology came a few days after the network took major heat for airing the deceptively edited clip. “Meet the Press” apologized Sunday evening in a reply tweet to Department of Justice spokeswoman Kerri Kupec. (RELATED: Trump And Fauci Team Up To Knock Down Question From NBC Reporter)
“You’re correct,” the show’s Twitter admitted. “Earlier today, we inadvertently and inaccurately cut short a video clip of an interview with AG Barr before offering commentary and analysis. The remaining clip included important remarks from the attorney general that we missed, and we regret the error.”