andrea mitchell

Since the Norman Hsu campaign finance scandal first broke weeks ago, conservatives have wondered when liberal media members will get concerned about how this might impact the presidential aspirations of Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY).

If Sunday's "The Chris Matthews Show" is a barometer, the news is not good for Hillary supporters.

As The Anchoress accurately reported Saturday, NBC's Andrea Mitchell made a statement concerning the Clintons that was absolutely shocking:

Up until now, Bill Clinton has been a complete plus among Democratic primary voters for Hillary Clinton. But now, with the Norman Hsu money-raising controversy, for the first time there's a real concern in the Clinton camp that this is real baggage from the Clinton White House years. There's a lot of stress, a lot of damage control, a lot of finger-pointing - and in fact, stress is so high that there was a shouting match observed among Clinton staffers in public last week.

Contrast this with Mitchell's statements about former President Clinton on September 5's "Today' show as reported by the MRC's Tim Graham:

Well experts in both parties say he is the best political strategist in the business and now he's got another book that is sure to be a bestseller. So how will that affect the political fortunes of his wife at a critical point in the campaign? He's not the typical candidate's spouse.

[...]

Barack Obama is attracting big crowds. But for Democrats, Bill Clinton has more star power than any of the candidates, perhaps even his wife.

[...]

And so far what he is doing is a big asset to his wife's campaign. In fact, Hillary Clinton is getting her biggest crowds when her husband is campaigning at her side. But her aides say that she is running on her own record, even if, for now, the former president is one of her biggest assets.

What a difference ten days make, wouldn't you agree?

This raises an important question: Does this scandal have the traction yet to really stick to Hillary, or will she prove just as Teflon-coated as her husband?

Stay tuned.

―Noel Sheppard is an economist, business owner, and Associate Editor of NewsBusters.



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Categories: Andrea Mitchell Bill Clinton Andrea Mitchell (born October 30, 1946) is a journalist, television commentator, and writer. She covers burgeoning international issues for all NBC News broadcasts, including NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams, Today, and MSNBC. She frequently anchors the 11:00 to noon hour of MSNBC Live, and is often a guest on Hardball with Chris Matthews.

Mitchell graduated with a B.A. in English literature from the University of Pennsylvania in 1967, where she served as News Director of student radio station WXPN. She joined Philadelphia NBC affiliate KYW radio and TV as a reporter that same year.

After several years at KYW, she moved to CBS affiliate WTOP in Washington, DC in 1976. Two years later, Mitchell moved to NBC's network news operation, where she served as a general correspondent. In 1979, she was named NBC News' Energy correspondent and reported on the late 1970s energy crisis and the Three Mile Island nuclear accident. Mitchell also covered the White House from 1981 until becoming Chief Congressional Correspondent in 1988.

She has been the Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent for NBC News since November 1994. Previously, she had served as Chief White House Correspondent (1993-1994) and Chief Congressional Correspondent (1988-1992) for NBC News.

Mitchell, who is Jewish[1], married her second husband, Alan Greenspan, formerly the Federal Reserve Chairman, in 1997. Her husband, first appointed to the position in August 1987 by President Reagan, retired in 2006. Previously, she was married to Gil Jackson; that marriage ended in divorce in the mid-1970s.

Contents
1 Role in the Lewis Libby Trial
2 Sudan Incident
3 References
4 External links



[edit] Role in the Lewis Libby Trial
A report in the Washington Post that Mitchell was an original recipient of the leak of Valerie Plame's identity led to her being questioned by the FBI in the case. While Andrea Mitchell never appeared before the grand jury in the indictment or in the trial of Lewis Libby, she was on the subpoena list as a person of interest. In October 2003, on the Capitol Report, Mitchell made a statement which Libby's defense construed to mean that it was widely known among journalists that Joe Wilson's wife was in the CIA, a statement that she later "recanted".[1][2]

MURRAY: And the second question is: Do we have any idea how widely known it was in Washington that Joe Wilson's wife worked for the CIA?
MITCHELL: It was widely known amongst those of us who cover the intelligence community and who were actively engaged in trying to track down who among the foreign service community was the envoy to Niger. But frankly I wasn't aware of her actual role at the CIA and the fact that she had a covert role involving weapons of mass destruction, not until Bob Novak wrote it.

As a reporter, Mitchell has controversially covered the case, expressing personal opinions, without acknowledging her own involvement.

The trial resulted in guilty verdicts for Mr. Libby. In a post-trial appearance on MSNBC on March 12th 2007, Mitchell stated erroneously that polls show that most Americans want to see Lewis Libby pardoned.[2] However, the most recent poll taken by CNN at the time showed that only 18% support a Libby pardon.[3]

On April 26, 2007 Mitchell again cited polling results that were not correct. This time, her report alleged that current speaker Pelosi's "marks are not much above" what former Speaker Hastert's were near the end of his tenure as speaker. In fact, at the time of Mitchell's report, polls showed that Pelosi's popularity was at 45%-53%. Polls showed Hastert's popularity at 22% before the 2006 election.

She was a frequent guest on Don Imus's radio program and answered a number of his questions about the case and her involvement. She jokingly called the sharp-tongued radio personality her "personal terrorist"[3].


[edit] Sudan Incident
In July 2005, Mitchell was forcibly ejected from a room after asking Sudanese President Omar el-Bashir some pointed questions. "Can you tell us why the violence is continuing?" (referring to genocide in Sudan's Darfur province). "Can you tell us why the government is supporting the militias?" "Why should Americans believe your promises?" At this point two armed security guards grabbed her and shoved her out the door.

"It is our job to ask," Mitchell said after the incident. "They can always say 'no comment'… but to drag a reporter out just for asking is inexcusable behavior."

Prior to the incident, Sudanese officials expressed reservations about allowing American newspaper or television reporters to join the Sudanese press pool. Sean McCormack, the U.S. State Department's assistant secretary for public affairs, said to his Sudanese counterpart, "I'll convey your desires about not permitting reporters to ask questions, but that's all I'll do. We have a free press." McCormack's Sudanese counterpart replied, "There is no freedom of the press here."

Also in 2005, Mitchell wrote a book entitled Talking Back... to Presidents, Dictators, and Assorted Scoundrels, (ISBN 0143038737), chronicling her work as a journalist.