The White House Condemned Russia Yesterday; It Was Ignored

White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer rebuked Russia for detaining protesters during a White House press conference on Monday, but few mainstream news outlets reported it.

“I think the United States strongly condemns the detention of hundreds of peaceful protesters throughout Russia that happened on June 12th,” Spicer said in response to a question by Yahoo! News.

“Detaining peaceful protesters, human rights observers, and journalists is an affront to core democratic values. The United States will monitor the situation, and we will call on the government of Russia to immediately release all peaceful protesters,” he said.

“The Russian people, like people everywhere, deserve a government that supports an open marketplace of ideas, transparent and accountable governance, equal treatment under the law, and the ability to exercise their rights without fear or retribution,” he continued.

The response was reported shortly afterward by The Hill, CNBC.com, and some conservative news sites. Major networks ABC, CBS, and NBC reported on the Russian protests but did not include the White House’s condemnation.

Wires Associated Press and Reuters reported the remarks in short briefs, as normal. It fell to CNN’s Moscow bureau to pick up the remarks.

The omissions by major mainstream news outlets did not go unnoticed by Newsbusters, which monitors the media for bias. It reported:

The White House came out strong and condemned Russia for cracking down on the peaceful protestors. All of the Big Three Networks (ABC, CBS, and NBC) reported on the mass arrests during their evening broadcasts, but they all ignored the White House’s condemnation of the Russian government.

Newsbusters did note that CNN’s The Lead host Jake Tapper started off a segment on the protests by noting Spicer’s comment.

The White House statement condemning Russia did not fit the narrative that the president’s critics and liberals have painted, of the Trump administration unwilling to criticize Russia.

They have argued that President Trump colluded with Russia to win the presidential election, despite former FBI Director James Comey telling the president three times that he was not under FBI investigation for potential ties to Russia.