During back-to-back hostile interviews on CBS This Morning and NBC’s Today on Friday, Republican vice presidential nominee Mike Pence attempted to force the networks to actually cover the controversy swirling around the Wikileaks release of thousands of Clinton campaign e-mails. However, every time he raised the topic, the morning show hosts promptly cut him off.

While being grilled about sexual assault allegations against Donald Trump during the appearance on This Morning, Pence pointed out the glaring media double standard in coverage of campaign controversies: “Donald Trump made it very clear yesterday, he has categorically denied these allegations and these kind of unsubstantiated claims being given so much focus in the media at the time we have hard evidence flowing out of the Clinton Foundation.”

He noted: “We had evidence this week, in fact, that while she was Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton and her aides actually gave preferential treatment to friends of the Clintons for reconstruction contracts in Haiti.” Co-host Charlie Rose interrupted: “We would like to ask all of those questions....We would like to ask all of those questions of her, but – But we have Donald Trump's running mate here this morning.”

Pence observed: “That receives very little attention and these unsubstantiated claims are dominating the news.”

<<< Please consider helping NewsBusters financially with your tax-deductible contribution today >>>

<<< Thank you for your support! >>>

Minutes later, Pence again tried to discuss the Clinton revelations:

And yet, to be honest with you, with all due respect, as this avalanche of e-mails continues to emerge – Hillary Clinton advocating open borders when she was giving a speech in Brazil, advocating socialized medicine when she gave a speech in Canada. But I have to tell you, this Haitian issue, to me, is the biggest one. $10 billion in aide contracts and now we see, despite her – despite her statements to the contrary, that while she was Secretary of State, the friends of the Clinton's were given preferential treatment for contracts for the reconstruction of Haiti after an earthquake. That’s kind of pay-for-play politics the American people are tired of.

Again, Rose stopped him: “Governor, I want to let my colleagues have a chance here. I want my colleagues to have a chance. Clearly these are important issues and we’d like to raise them with her and her running mate, but we have you here this morning.”

On NBC’s Today, Pence similarly called out co-hosts Matt Lauer and Savannah Guthrie: “...it’s astonishing to see – with all due respect – it's astonishing to see the enormous coverage of these – of these, you know, really, you know, unfounded allegations, unestablished allegations, compared to an avalanche of e-mails coming out of Hillary Clinton's years as Secretary of State.”

He demanded the Clinton scandals be covered: “...there is now an e-mail that shows that in the Haitian recovery effort after the earthquake, that the State Department was directed to remember businesses that were friends of the Clintons. That's exactly the kind of pay-to-play politics that she said never happened and now we see hard evidence, not unsubstantiated allegations, but hard evidence that that took place.”

Guthrie dismissed his request: “We have covered that story, and with respect, if she were here or Tim Kaine were here, we'd be asking her. You're answerable for your campaign, they're answerable for their campaign.”

In reality, the networks have barely touched the Wikileaks story when compared to the mountain of coverage devoted to the accusations against Trump.

Here are excerpts from the October 14 interviews with Pence on CBS and NBC: