CNN’s Wolf Blitzer just expressed regrets for a graphic shown yesterday that read, “Dept. of Jihad?”
“CNN had no intention of suggesting that the Justice Department supports terrorism,” he said. “Lawyers at the Justice Department are patriotic Americans, and we certainly regret any confusion that may have been caused by our graphic.”
The graphic came before a segment yesterday on the ad by Liz Cheney’s group that attacks DOJ officials who previously represented Guantanamo detainees.
A chyron during the segment asked, “Are Justice Department Lawyers Disloyal?”
Blitzer referenced the storm of criticism the segment set off on Twitter, which was initiated by Salon columnist Glenn Greenwald.
The Cheney ad has been sharply criticized by many high-profile attorneys and organizations including the American Bar Association.
The issue raised in the Cheney ad came to the fore after letters to the DOJ written by Sen. Chuck Grassley and signed by all of the Senate Judiciary Committee Republicans. The Republicans demanded a list of names of the lawyers who had represented detainees.
The phrase “Dept. of Jihad?” was taken by CNN straight from the Cheney ad, which showed an editorial from Investor’s Business Daily with that title.
Here’s the video of Blitzer Friday evening:
