Critics Fume At Right’s Silence On Trump Pardon Recipient Being Convicted of Sexually Abusing Children: ‘Just Crickets’

NPR investigative reporter Tom Dreisbach broke the news this week that a January 6th rioter pardoned by President Donald Trump had been convicted by a Florida jury of sexually abusing children, including an 11-year-old.

Dreisbach posted the news on social media, which sparked a bevy of replies from many of his fellow journalists and other media commentators who felt the story was not getting nearly the attention it deserved. He added one of the more shocking details in the case to his post, noting, “Per police, Andrew Paul Johnson tried to bribe one of his victims by promising to share expected Jan. 6 restitution money from the Trump admin.”

Pod Save America host Dan Pfeiffer shared Dreisbach’s post and wrote, “If a Democratic president pardoned a violent criminal who went on to do something like this, it would be the biggest story in politics for weeks. There would be a media feeding frenzy, hearings, and Dems would be asked to rebuke the President. With Trump, its just crickets.”

According to a search of SnapStream’s cable news transcripts, Johnson’s convicted was only mentioned by one show on all of cable news this week – MS NOW’s Lawrence O’Donnell. Fox News and CNN did not cover the conviction as news. News sites like NBC News, The Guardian, and others covered the conviction, while the NY Post appeared to be the only major right-leaning outlet to do so.  

Many of Trump’s critics also accused the right of hypocrisy for being silent about Johnson’s case, while endlessly highlighting the worst crimes committed by illegal immigrants. Ex-Bloomberg writer Robert George wrote, “These pardoned repeat offenders need to be as well known as any illegal immigrant who commits a felony.”

Below are some additional reactions:

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The post Critics Fume At Right’s Silence On Trump Pardon Recipient Being Convicted of Sexually Abusing Children: ‘Just Crickets’ first appeared on Mediaite.