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Amid his own defamation lawsuit, CNN’s Jake Tapper had some thoughts on the “wildly ridiculous” media accountability the president-elect continued seeking after a settlement decision by ABC.

(Video Credit: CNN)

Though a settlement neither confirms guilt nor innocence, the reverberations of ABC’s decision to dole out $15 million to stop a defamation suit from President-elect Donald Trump before it went to trial were being felt across corporate media.

This included Tapper who appeared incredulous as he sought explanations to downplay other legal challenges brought forward by the GOP leader against the withering Fourth Estate.

Joined by correspondent Kristen Holmes Monday on “The Lead,” the anchor led into a series of clips from Trump’s press conference earlier in the day from Mar-a-Lago as he said, “I don’t want to overstate Trump’s friendliness and genial attitude at this press conference because, this weekend, ABC News agreed to pay $16 million, including legal fees, to settle a defamation lawsuit brought by Trump against the network and their anchor, George Stephanopoulos.”

“And that obviously will not be the end of this campaign against the media — legal campaign against the media. We heard him go after many other news outlets today,” added Tapper as Trump brought up his latest challenge against The Des Moines Register for Ann Seltzer’s inaccurate poll on Iowa days before the election, as well as his ongoing challenges against CBS News’ “60 Minutes,” journalist Bob Woodward and the Pulitzer Prize Board for awards given to the New York Times for coverage of the Russia collusion hoax.

“This is wildly ridiculous,” asserted the anchor as he attempted to downplay legal concerns, dismissing the poll as wrong without addressing concerns it may have been intentionally inaccurate as he similarly dismissed the kind of editing that took place in Vice President Kamala Harris’ “60 Minutes” interview as standard for television and something with which Trump should have familiarity.

Notably, as others across corporate media coped with the settlement of Stephanopoulos repeatedly claiming Trump had been “found liable for rape,” Tapper himself remained in the midst of a defamation suit with U.S. Navy veteran Zachary Young regarding coverage of efforts to get Afghans out of their country following President Joe Biden’s disastrous withdrawal.

The anchor said that CNN correspondent Alex Marquardt had discovered, “Afghans trying to get out of the country face a black market full of promises, demands of exorbitant fees, and no guarantee of safety or success,” before Marquardt himself named Young’s company as an example of those allegedly requiring “exorbitant, often impossible amounts” before offering help to “desperate Afghans…”

Reactions to Tapper’s coverage of Trump’s victory in one of several battles against allegedly irresponsible media outlets readily described the anchor as working through a struggle session and that “Jake can’t believe accountability is here.”

Kevin Haggerty
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