In a media that is completely saturated with left-wing bias, C-SPAN has been able to retain its credibility as a non-partisan source of real news largely due to its stated mission of providing live coverage of the messier aspects of the democratic process with broadcasts of House and Senate proceedings.
But the status of an honest purveyor of information is now being questioned by some after the decision to not air the recent House Judiciary Committee hearing on the border crisis in Yuma, Arizona, a hearing that was snubbed by Democrat lawmakers who couldn’t be bothered to show up.
According to the network, its mission is to provide “access to the live gavel-to-gavel proceedings of the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate, and to other forums where public policy is discussed, debated and decided––all without editing, commentary or analysis and with a balanced presentation of points of view.”
However, that wasn’t the case with this week’s proceedings in Yuma where the new GOP majority took its show on the road to get the story on what’s really going on at the border from the people most impacted by the Biden regime’s catastrophic illegal immigration policies.
(Video: YouTube/News 11 Yuma)
“It’s a shame that not one Democrat member of Congress would join us on this trip, despite having weeks of advance notice,” Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan told Fox News. “It’s disappointing, but it’s not surprising.”
Not only did the Democrats not participate in the historic hearing from the front lines of America’s illegal immigration crisis but neither did C-SPAN.
Initially, C-SPAN’s Congressional Editor Robb Harleston thought that the idea was “great” according to Capitol Hill sources per conservative website Townhall.com but he quickly reversed course, depriving Americans of their chance to view the testimony which was highly critical of Biden’s handling of the border.
“We’re concerned about the absence of [Democrat] members of the hearing,” Harleston said the next day, according to Townhall’s Julio Rosas.
Republican staffers reportedly tried in vain to get Harleston to understand that it was an official Judiciary Committee hearing and that committee has jurisdiction over the issue but he “continued to cite how Democrats choosing to not attend the hearing meant C-SPAN would not broadcast it, then lastly mentioning they were dealing with a manpower shortage,” the outlet reported.
“If there’s any concrete decisions regarding Democratic involvement, we might reconsider,” Harleston reportedly told them. “However, while we understand the gravity of this issue, without a balanced member representation it’s been decided we’re going to pass on coverage. We’re also operating under a limited manpower situation, which forces us to make tough coverage decisions.”
Rosas took to Twitter to point out the network’s coverage of a road hearing when only a few Democrats showed up, calling into question Harleston’s veracity.
“Harleston then claimed the real reason they wouldn’t broadcast the hearing was due to lack of manpower. However, C-SPAN had no issue broadcasting a field hearing when only four Democrats showed up in 2019. There were over a dozen GOP members in Yuma,” the reporter noted.
Harleston then claimed the real reason they wouldn’t broadcast the hearing was due to lack of manpower. However, C-SPAN had no issue broadcasting a field hearing when only four Democrats showed up in 2019. There were over a dozen GOP members in Yuma.https://t.co/E4LwcdcLc5 pic.twitter.com/pbH3l8YTaJ
— Julio Rosas (@Julio_Rosas11) February 28, 2023
The House Judiciary Committee rebuffed excuses from the recalcitrant Democrat lawmakers that they were no-shows because they hadn’t been consulted.
FAKE NEWS. We were in communication with the Democrats for weeks about the trip.
They're just scared to face the harsh realities of the #BidenBorderCrisis. https://t.co/ukYzg4WHjm
— House Judiciary GOP (@JudiciaryGOP) February 16, 2023
Rep. Jordan even invited his Democrat colleagues to join during the first hearing.
In fact, here’s @Jim_Jordan inviting them to join during our first hearing! pic.twitter.com/rjLGD8mzCK
— House Judiciary GOP (@JudiciaryGOP) February 16, 2023
“C-SPAN bases our daily editorial decisions on a variety of factors, such as interest for a national audience, the witnesses involved, and balance of perspectives over time. This leaves room for coverage of events at which only one party is represented, but the reality of limited resources is that we can’t get them all,” C-SPAN’s director of editorial operations, Ben O’Connell, said in a statement to the outlet. “We have covered many—and will continue to cover many—hearings and other events on immigration, the border, and the fentanyl crisis as our resources allow.”
Harleston did not respond to the outlet’s request for comment.
“It’s really disappointing that C-SPAN decided to skip last Thursday’s Judiciary Committee hearing, but had no problem covering Democrat-run hearings in the past,” a Republican source told Townhall. “Maybe the Speaker could look at finding an alternative outlet to cover House proceedings, rather than continue to allow C-SPAN to have an editorialized monopoly of House coverage.”
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