A video accompanying allegations that a top aide to Donald Trump roughed up a reporter is being dissected like the Zapruder film, and on Friday, MSNBC tripped over the most basic description of the video itself.
The video in question appears to show the moments before Michelle Fields, a reporter for Breitbart, was allegedly grabbed and nearly pulled to the ground by Trump’s campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski.
A segment of MSNBC’s “Place For Politics 2016” aired a portion of the video Thursday afternoon. Afterward, host Tamron Hall and correspondent Katy Tur, who follows Trump on the campaign trail, tied each other in knots over Tur’s reference to a longer version of the video.
“I want to go back to the video you were showing, because you didn’t show the entirety of the video,” Tur said. She went on to describe what happens in the video after the version that aired cut out.
When the discussion turned back to Hall, she issued a clarification on Tur’s reference to a longer cut of the video.
“Because of the sensitivities, Katy, to this video, and I think we need to make a clarification here, because you referenced this video being ‘edited’ or ‘what we showed,'” Hall said. “We’ve not edited the video. What was cut was sent through our legal department, and the part of the video that you are describing is not anything that we’ve edited here at the MSNBC headquarters or taken out.”
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Indeed, there is a longer version of the video that MSNBC had posted on its website. While the tape that aired on the live TV segment ended where a camera obscures the shot, the online version continues a few more seconds of footage, as Tur described:
Tur alluded to the longer version while trying to explain what happens after the temporary obstruction, as that additional footage speaks to other details about Fields’ account of the incident.
Hall seemed to take issue not with Tur’s careful interpretation of what the video showed, but rather how Tur referred to the longer online version, as if Hall feared it may invite accusations that MSNBC tampered with the film.
“As you well know, because of the sensitivities of this and the allegations, when it’s worded that we’ve edited out or didn’t show something in the video, as you stated, it makes it appear to Trump supporters or whomever that we’re not showing the clear picture,” Hall said. “As I understand it, so I can be clear with our audience watching, this has gone through standards, it’s gone through legal. What we showed was the video.”
Tur seemed confused by Hall’s corrective.
“Well, the video goes on at length,” Tur said. “I’m not entirely sure what has gone through our legal and standards department. We should check in on that.”
It’s not surprising that reporters are splitting hairs over how they describe Fields’ allegations — and even the video that at least partially backs up Fields’ account — given Trump’s propensity for suing people. He even once said he sued a reporter because it would “make his life miserable,” even though Trump knew he would lose in court.
Hall closed the segment by reiterating one more time that MSNBC hadn’t edited the video.
“Just for the credibility of our show and this network, I just want to be clear to whomever is watching, because of the sensitivities of it, we are running the video that we’ve received and that has gone through our legal department to show the complete visuals at least of what was provided at this point,” she said.
