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CBS Runs Puff Piece on Likely Dem Ohio Gubernatorial Candidate Cordray

September 11, 2017

A CBS "Sunday Morning" profile heralded the work of Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Director Richard Cordray while trivializing Republican criticism, and downplaying the director's rumored plans to run for office as a Democrat in the 2018 Ohio governor race.

CBS introduced the segment on the Obama administration nominee, saying "it helps if the consumer has someone watching his or her back. [CBS News correspondent] Erin Moriarty of '48 Hours' has been talking to the embattled head of the federal agency that's trying to do just that."

Moriarty introduced Cordray as a champion, saying he "may be the best friend the consumer has ever had."

"So why does he seem to have so many enemies on Capitol Hill?" Moriarty asked.

At one point, Moriarty asked Vanity Fair reporter William Cohen if the only reason Republicans were criticizing CFPB and Cordray was because, "maybe he’s just doing his job too well?"

"That's always a possibility," Cohen responded.

"I personally think it just goes back to the antipathy that fellow senators have and Congress people have for Elizabeth Warren," he continued. "This [CFPB] is her baby. I think they just want to zing her a little bit."

The sole critic of Cordray in the CBS piece was Republican Congressman Jeb Hensarling (R., Texas) who said the CFPB director had too much power for one unelected bureaucrat, and that the legal uncertainty Conrdray created hurts small businesses and banks.

In response to each criticism, however, Hensarling's soundbites were immediately followed by rebuttals from CFPB supporters. CBS showed footage of Hensarling criticizing professors, who support CFPB, to those same professors. In response, they laughed at the Texas congressman.

The CFPB – championed by Sen. Elizebeth Warren (D., Mass.) and created under the Obama administration following the 2007-2008 financial crisis – is by some measures considered to be the "most partisan" government agency. Critics argue the agency actually "harms those it claims to protect."

It isn't until the end of the segment that CBS informed viewers that Cordray has expressed interest in leaving the CFPB to run for Ohio governor in 2018. The segment did not provide his party affiliation, or mention the fact that before joining the agency, he was elected as a Democrat to multiple Ohio offices.

CBS did mention that Cordray is a five-time Jeopardy champion.