This morning, two of the segments on WV Metro’s “Talkline” featured guests who discussed yesterday’s January 6 hearing.

Guy Lewis: no balance and little disclosure

Here’s the clip:

Were there any additional problems created by former President Donald Trump from the testimony by Cassidy Hutchinson? Guy Lewis, Former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, discusses the testimony and its impact to @HoppyKercheval. WATCH: https://t.co/yCFQ3nDJuy pic.twitter.com/UYUUz6Yt3f

— MetroNews (@WVMetroNews) June 29, 2022

Lewis is identified as the former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida. Was he? Yes, he was. In 2000, he took over the post when Thomas Scott resigned. In 2002, he was replaced. Since then, he has been a defense attorney -- most notably for the team that defended Jeffrey Epstein.
Additionally, he regularly appears on Fox Business News as a guest. For instance, a month ago, he showed-up for this segment:

Hillary Clinton campaign paid for ‘October surprise’ against Trump: Guy Lewis

In April, it was this segment:

White House expressed ‘nervousness’ over Hunter and Joe Biden situation: Guy Lewis

Sorry, Lewis is not a neutral observer.

Through most of the interview, Lewis suggested that the committee would need more direct testimony in order to prosecute. (Well, okay, but prosecution isn’t the purpose of the committee.) In particular, he and Hoppy focused on whether President Trump really had grabbed the steering wheel – a minor point that conservatives appear to think is extremely significant.

I wasn’t very impressed with anything Lewis said. I also wish Kercheval had provided more on Lewis’ background: he clearly is not an impartial former Federal prosecutor. Listeners could then more fairly assess what he was arguing.

Gary Abernathy

Abernathy is a conservative columnist for the Washington Post. As his Post bio suggests, he is a Trump supporter. Here’s his clip:

What are @AbernathyGary's takeaways from the testimony of Cassidy Hutchinson, who was an aid to Mark Meadows? Gary provides his opinion to @HoppyKercheval. WATCH: https://t.co/yCFQ3nDJuy pic.twitter.com/YC6HJWORhw

— MetroNews (@WVMetroNews) June 29, 2022

Gary Abernathy begins with the Trump and Secret Service story. From there he concludes that “so much of her testimony was second-hand testimony.” The Secret Service story was, but most of Cassidy Hutchinson’s testimony, in my opinion, was not. I was a bit surprised (and pleased) when Hoppy concluded that “a lot of testimony was not hearsay.” For me, Abernathy added little to the discussion.

A final thought – Sadly, much of the focus on Hutchinson’s testimony has shifted to the Secret Service incident. It’s unfortunate because it shifts the coverage to what I think is a minor point of her testimony.

I just tried to find what the Secret Service is saying about the incident. Officially, and despite what some are claiming, the agency has not replied. Here is what a fact checker has found:

As of this morning, there was no evidence that the U.S. Secret Service had "officially debunked" Cassidy Hutchinson's testimony, a claim made in a popular tweet earlier today. Here are the facts on this subject, as well as a complete list of citations. https://t.co/zGHz6gCeSD

— snopes.com (@snopes) June 29, 2022

I will try to keep up with this one.

Update - that didn't take long

It's still hearsay but . . . .

Based on two Secret Service sources, CNN reports that the story of an irate Trump demanding to be taken to the Capitol and even attempting to lunge for the steering wheel spread around the agency weeks after Jan. 6.

One source said they heard it directly from the driver. pic.twitter.com/1dezTlkvvk

— Justin Baragona (@justinbaragona) July 1, 2022