Cedric's Big Mix: R Kelly and his lawyer missed the boat on Civil Rights history

BULLY BOY PRESS & CEDRIC'S BIG MIX -- THE KOOL AID TABLE

AT THE CLOSE OF THE TRIAL OF NOTED SINGING PEDOPHILE R KELLY, HIS ATTORNEY DECLARED THAT R WAS LIKE MLK.

DEVERAUX CANNICK APPARENTLY MISUNDERSTOOD. MLK DECLARED, "I HAVE A DREAM."

HE CERTAINLY DID NOT SAY, "I HAVE A WET DREAM."

NOR DID HE SAY, "I HAVE HAD A WET DREAM ABOUT ALL YOUR LITTLE BOYS AND GIRLS. I WANT TO TOUCH THEM AND I WANT THEM TO CALL ME DADDY."

REACHED FOR COMMENT, R KELLY TOLD THESE REPORTERS, "IF YOU'RE UNDER AGE, LIKE MY SONG SAYS, YOUR BODY'S CALLIN'."

FROM THE TCI WIRE:

Yesterday, at the White House press briefing, a reporter shouted a question at Jen Psaki as she was leaving the podium. An e-mail to the public account maintains that the official White House transcript is censored. No, it's not. She had concluded the press conference. She was still in the briefing room and walking away from the podium. I'm not trying to cover for her, I'm just trying to honestly note what happened.

Stream the video below, you can just go to 44:12, actually.

If the White House had censored the transcript, that would have been huge news. That's not what happened.

Jen Psaki has concluded the press conference and said thank you. She is picking up her briefing items when one man shouts something and a female reporter is overlapping with

"Question on Hunter Biden if" and by "if" she's already headed towards the door. The press briefing is over. She has said "thank you" and began her exit. Had she turned around and come back to the podium, the remarks would need to be part of the official transcript. But she doesn't.

The transcript isn't censored. If it were, I'd be noting it here. If it were I'd be horrified at what an administration had been done but, honestly, I'd be happy on one level because that would be news and it would force the outlets ignoring the story to actually cover it.

But that's not what happened. If you're being told it is what happened -- the e-mailer claimed he saw the report on FOX NEWS (which is why I have used FOX NEWS' broadcast of the press conference, by the way, so no one can claim that the briefing was edited by the White House) -- then you are being lied to at worst. At best? Someone unfamiliar with the procedures has made a faulty call and is repeating it without realizing that.

It's perfectly fine to say Jen walked away. The look on her face indicates she's not thrilled by what's being stated. I don't think it's fair to say she walked away from the question because she's walking away and has her back to the room before the "if" is spoken.

But, no, the White House did not censor the transcript.

I don't know who the woman trying to ask at the end is. I do wonder why she waited until then to attempt to ask a question? I would've interrupted many times before including during the ending nonsense about drive time and blah blah blah restrictions. I would've said something like, "Yeah, Jen, you've covered that and you've already told us you have nothing new so what about the revelations that Hunter Biden's laptop has now been confirmed and what about your Tweet back in October insisting that the whole thing was a lie and a smear and" blah blah blah.

And that's how I would've asked it.

Which is the other thing people aren't getting.

I'm going to mention Jill Biden. I know Jill and I try to make this an off limits space because Jill's always been kind to me and I like Jill. When she started defending Hunter -- she did it once -- after the election, I immediately called that out here and her by name. I stated she has every right to say, "Hunter's my son" (she raised him -- do not e-mail the public account telling me she's not his mother, I don't care for your attitude on that, that's a whole issue of stereotypes and nonsense re: Mom is only the birth mom b.s. that I thought we were beyond), she was perfectly in her rights to say "I love him" and either "I hope it's not true" but that was really it. Anything further needed her redirecting the question along the lines of, "What I can tell you about is . . ." and then sharing some memory.

I commented that's how she had to respond and if she did anything else she was opening the door to any type of question on Hunter and on the criminal investigation. She can't open the door a little and then slam it shut.

But, as we noted then, it's even more restrictive on Joe Biden. Joe's not allowed to speak if asked this question. He can say, "I love my son." He probably should say that. But he needs to immediately follow that with, "As the head of the executive branch, I can't comment on an ongoing criminal investigation." And he can't. It would be an ethical lapse and an abuse of his position and his power.

So if I wanted something from Jen, I would frame it around her Tweet last October.

Just asking her about the laptop is most likely going to result in, "I cannot comment on an ongoing criminal investigation that the FBI is conducting." That's accurate. But she can be asked about her Tweet. That's not part of the criminal investigation. That goes to her own judgment -- and if she's the White House spokesperson, questions about her judgment come with the territory.

She might blow off the question, she might try humor (something riffing on, ten months after I make a statement, I -- like most people -- know a little more than I did ten months before), she might try to stick to "I can't comment on an ongoing investigation."

It would be a mistake to fall back on that last one if she's being asked about her Tweet. Her Tweet goes to judgment, not to the investigation.

It would be great if the press could function. That does mean asking Jen about the new revelations regarding the laptop. And asking her about it? That means doing so during the press conference. That briefing lasted over 40 minutes. Stream the whole thing and realize how many times she's not answering a question despite speaking on and on. (That's not slamming her, that's the role of the spokesperson.) There were many times when someone could have jumped in and asked that question. They didn't need to be called upon. Just say, "Yeah, Jen, you've covered that, now about Hunter Biden's laptop --" And then you have a question asked during the briefing and on the record.

Sunday, September 26, 2021

R Kelly and his lawyer missed the boat on Civil Rights history

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