As the race for 2020 begins to heat up a little bit more every day, it’s worth remembering just who the people are that are shaping the coverage of our upcoming election.

Who can forget the picture of Andrea Mitchell and company smiling in delight at the mere sight of Hillary Clinton on her campaign plane? Whether they realized it at the time or not, that shot was destined to become a microcosm of just how biased the media had become. Things went far beyond just fawning photos though. As we’d later find out, a laundry list of “journalists” were directly coordinating with the Hillary Clinton campaign in an effort to beat Donald Trump.

James Hasson provides a great reminder in a recent thread of just how pervasive these relationships were between the press and Clinton.

WaPo columnist Dana Milbank, who recently accused Mitch McConnell of being a Russian asset ("Moscow Mitch"), apparently asked the DNC in 2016 for oppo research on Trump. 2/ https://t.co/AnIIxjf2S8

— James Hasson (@JamesHasson20) August 18, 2019

Thrush also told Podesta "because I have become a hack I will send u the whole section that pertains to u," and said,"please don't share or tell anyone I did this." 4/

— James Hasson (@JamesHasson20) August 18, 2019

Let’s also note that Thrush got caught up in a #metoo scandal as well. But because no one in media is every allowed to actually fail on their merits, Thrush is now back at The New York Times. Being a liberal forgives all sins in the world of the mainstream media.

Mark Leibovitch, the Chief National Correspondent for NYT Magazine, told HRC aide Jennifer Palmieri she could "veto whatever [she] didn't want" before he published a story titled "Re-Re-Re-Reintroducing Hillary Clinton." He cut parts she objected to. 6/ https://t.co/OKbbhjkSt0

— James Hasson (@JamesHasson20) August 18, 2019

And of course, Maggie Haberman—then with Politico and now with the NYT—was singled out by HRC spokesman Nick Merrill as a "friendly journalist" who was "safe" and had "teed up stories" for the campaign in the past and "never disappointed" them. 8/https://t.co/V5UhDVMMGC

— James Hasson (@JamesHasson20) August 18, 2019

What you’ll note about all of these people is that they were never punished. At no point did their publications apologize for their unethical behavior. In fact, many of them ended up with promotions in the coming years. Maggie Haberman still spouts off as if she’s a moral authority and principled journalist. John Harwood is as dishonest as ever. Glenn Thrush was temporarily sidelined over sexual harassment claims, but he’s already back in the club less than a year later.

Here’s the other thing, though. While the media and the Democrats were never going to hold themselves accountable, you’d have thought the Republican party would react differently to preserve their own self-interests. Instead, we’ve seen no real change in the dynamics at play. The networks and papers these people worked for still enjoy access as if nothing ever happened. The GOP still gives them interviews, invites them to conventions, and Donald Trump is still giving Maggie Haberman quotes. Notice the contrast between that and how the DNC reacted the moment they saw an opportunity to shun Fox News and ban them from hosting debates.

There’s no accountability within the halls of American journalism. There are only narratives and if you are willing to push said narrative, you can get away with just about anything. Right now, Don Lemon is currently being sued for assault and there’s even an eye witness corroborating the accusation. Has CNN pulled him off the air, even as they’ve previously pushed far less credible allegations against Republicans? Of course not. “Rules for thee but not for me” might as well be their motto.

In the end, the same people who betrayed their journalist integrity in 2016 and beyond are shaping coverage of 2020. These people deserve no assumption of credibility. On the contrary, you should expect their bias and underhanded behavior to escalate to a far higher level than the previous presidential election. Getting rid of Donald Trump has become a religious tenet to the left in this country and their stenographers in the press aren’t going to play anything straight.

Republicans are going to have to get much smarter in how they combat this stuff because things are going to get much worse over the next year.

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