After Mueller Report, News Media Leaders Defend Their Work

In the swirl of reporting and speculation about President Donald Trump, nothing has held viewers on the edge of their seats quite like the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, and his investigation into possible ties between Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign and Russian agents. Mueller’s complete report hasn’t yet been released, but on March 24, Attorney General William P. Barr made public a four-page letter to Congress reporting that the 22-month inquiry did not have sufficient evidence to conclude that President Trump and his associates “conspired or coordinated with the Russian government” ahead of the 2016 election. The news blindsided many liberals — particularly those with an ambient knowledge of Rachel Maddow’s nightly monologues on MSNBC.

President Trump and his allies placed blame on the news media for its ravenous coverage. “I think Democrats and the liberal media owe the president and they owe the American people an apology,” said White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders. Martin Baron, executive editor of the Washington Post said, "The special counsel investigation documented, as we reported, extensive Russian interference in the 2016 election and widespread deceit on the part of certain advisers to the president about Russian contacts and other matters. Our job is to bring facts to light. Others make determinations about prosecutable criminal offenses.” Dean Baquet, the executive editor of The Times, echoed that sentiment. “We wrote a lot about Russia, and I have no regrets,” he said. “It’s not our job to determine whether or not there was illegality.”