Brian Stelter of CNN is trying a teenage girl excuse to get out of trouble for having a big ol’ crush on Michael Avenatti.

In this scenario, Stelter is the high school girl who was spending tons of time hanging out with the school jerk, who was constantly bragging about how he was going to get the class president expelled for sleeping with a cheerleader. But when the jerk took all the cheerleader’s lunch money, and Stelter got called into the principal’s office to explain, he offered up the “I was just paying attention to him because other people said he was popular” excuse.

With Michael Avenatti facing charges in multiple states, WaPo’s Erik Wemple went back and examined the reasons for Avenatti’s “cable-news ubiquity,” which has been intensely criticized by conservative media critics. I played a starring role in this Free Beacon mash-up of TV outlets talking with Avenatti, so Wemple asked me for comment… And here’s what I told him:

There are lots and lots of reasons why Avenatti was newsworthy when he was representing Stormy Daniels. Journalists did their jobs and questioned him — some more effectively than others. Critics are doing their jobs and questioning the coverage — and that makes all of us better. But bad faith arguments make us all worse off. Some folks have been distorting my comment last September about Avenatti. My thesis back then, which still holds, is that all future US presidents will be television stars of some sort. TV star power will be a prerequisite for the presidency. [That’s why] I told Avenatti “one reason I’m taking you seriously as a contender is because of your presence on cable news.”

Obviously I’m not taking him seriously anymore, but I own that comment. He showed a Trump-like mastery of the media last year. I think there’s been a lot of introspection in newsrooms about the reasons for that mastery. I think what’s most important now is that the cases against him are covered fairly and thoroughly, not soft-pedaled by people who previously interviewed him OR sensationalized by people who dislike him. (all emphasis in the original)

News flash, Stelter – YOU and your cohorts gave him that “mastery” by swooning all over him and telling him how just awesome he was. You couldn’t have covered Avenatti’s rear end with more lipstick marks if you’d tried.

So don’t try coming to the principal’s office now, saying “we need to be fair about this.” That ship has sailed, you hack.

If I may, @brianstelter, the video wasn't about media folks "talking with Avenatti," but rather boosting him or, at times, breathlessly praising him. Certainly he was a significant, news-making person, but he was also a clear partisan with an agenda. That was the point. pic.twitter.com/f3QV8NB0hI

— David Rutz (@DavidRutz) May 24, 2019

But coming in for the assist, like a teen girl providing an alibi for her friend who got busted for sneaking out of the house with the school jerk, is Erik Wemple of the Washington Post.

How Michael Avenatti commandeered CNN, MSNBC: https://t.co/KVpLGFlVPU

— ErikWemple (@ErikWemple) May 23, 2019

Oh, so Avenatti ran onto the set of CNN and MSNBC, and wouldn’t leave until he got an interview? Is that how it happened? If only we could figure out why Erik Wemple was so invested in defending Stelter and company…

Oooooof pic.twitter.com/WtZZZ7tWf6

— Seth Mandel (@SethAMandel) May 24, 2019

Oh. I wonder why everyone was fawning over Avenatti just months ago, and why they’re all running away from him now. Hmmm. It’s a mystery! It’s really too bad that such a spectacular backfire by Stelter, Wemple, and most of the leftist media won’t trigger any self-introspection on how they were so thouroughly owned by a fraud. Here’s a hint, guys – maybe the “enemy of your enemy” is really an enemy because he’s a raging clown, and not your friend.

Featured image: Brian Stelter of CNN (screenshot via CNN on YouTube)