Surprise! ‘Morning Joe’ Rediscovers Journalism Ethics

MSNBC’s normally partisan “Morning Joe” co-hosts Joe Scarborough (pictured above right) and Mika Brzezinski (above left) rebuked “so-called” reporters Tuesday who “have already decided” that Judge Brett Kavanaugh is a “rapist” and “serial sexual abuser.”

“We have been harshly critical of Fox News for being in the tank and being state-television for [President] Donald Trump,” Scarborough began with a typical jab at the president.

“Let me tell you something. What we’ve seen the last week has made me want to call networks and put a ‘D’ in front of the name of the so-called journalists that have already decided that Brett Kavanaugh is a rapist. Or what was the — ‘serial sexual abuser,'” Scarborough said. “Oh, really? You know that? Do you really know that?”

Brzezinski agreed, saying, “It’s frustrating.”

“It’s sick,” Scarborough added.

Although the “Morning Joe” co-hosts have done a poor job of hiding their own disdain for Trump, his policies, his supporters, and even his mental health, Scarborough and Brzezinski were brimming with unexpected indignation toward the blatant partisanship displayed by colleagues and senators.

Brzezinski insisted that the “only thing” reporters and media members can do is “be fair” to both Kavanaugh and to the women who came forward with decades-old sexual assault allegations in the final minutes of the 11th hour of Kavanaugh’s confirmation process.

Christine Blasey Ford, who initially wished to remain anonymous, publicly accused Kavanaugh September 16 of sexually assaulting her some 36 years ago at a high school party in suburban Maryland.

Although Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) received Ford’s allegations in July, she didn’t make them public until September 14, after they surfaced anonymously — apparently as a result of a leak from the minority side of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Kavanaugh’s confirmation experienced another setback late Sunday, when former Yale classmate Deborah Ramirez accused him in an article for The New Yorker of exposing himself to her at a drunken dorm party in college.

The Supreme Court nominee has unequivocally denied all of the sexual assault allegations against him and says he looks forward to defending himself when the judiciary panel convenes a Thursday hearing, where Ford will also appear.

The MSNBC duo weren’t entirely alone in criticizing media bias in the Kavanaugh coverage.

“This has not been the media’s finest hour in terms certainly in the coverage of this,” MSNBC senior contributor Mike Barnicle said.

Brzezinski and Scarborough also appeared Tuesday on ABC News’ “The View,” where they continued their media criticism.

Related: Dems ‘Exploited Women’ for ‘Political Gain,’ Sanders Says

“I think what we have here, though — and this morning we decided nobody comes on our show and smears somebody or convicts somebody or tears someone down for speaking out,” Brzezinski said. “What we have in the media right now is a trial and a conviction happening in the media.”

“This is so bad for our country, and this is what [President Donald] Trump wants,” Brzezinski added.

Scarborough chimed in, saying, “You have got Democratic senators that are basically saying, ‘I don’t need to hear Kavanaugh. He is a rapist.’ You’ve got Republican senators going out there saying, ‘I don’t need to hear these women, they’re lying.'”

“Due process. We still have due process in America,” Scarborough continued.

While GOP senators including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) are insisting they’ll push Kavanaugh’s confirmation through to a final vote on the Senate floor regardless of what results from Thursday’s hearing, other senators such as Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) insist that Kavanaugh is guilty until proven innocent because “all women must be believed” without question in matters of sexual assault.