CNN media reporter Brian Stelter wondered Sunday if other news outlets are doing a disservice to the American people by prioritizing coverage of snowstorms and mall shootings over the ongoing drama surrounding President Trump and Russia.

In a segment with veteran investigative journalist Carl Bernstein, Stelter expressed concern about the visibility of reports that an FBI counterintelligence investigation into whether Trump has acted as a Russian asset after news programs decided to lead instead with coverage of a major snowstorm impacting millions of people in the mid-Atlantic and developments about a mall shooting in New Jersey in which two people were shot and left in critical condition.

"I was watching 'Good Morning America' this weekend, and both mornings they led with snowstorms and scares at malls and other stories and not this," Stelter said. "I just keep wondering if the public is ill-served if we don't make it really clear what the stakes of this story are. How can a morning show not lead with this drama, I guess is what I'm saying."



Video: CNN;s @BrianStelter upset not enough media attention on Trump and Russia: “I was watching Good Morning America this weekend and both mornings they led with snowstorms and scares at malls...How can a morning show not lead with this drama?” pic.twitter.com/oYVsZsgxGp — Brent Baker (@BrentHBaker) January 13, 2019



Bernstein pushed back, saying, "I think plenty of times we lead with this drama," to which Stelter admitted he agreed.

According to the New York Times report, published Friday, the FBI opened a counterintelligence investigation into Trump the day after he fired FBI Director James Comey in the spring of 2017. The counterintelligence inquiry was wrapped into the FBI's broader Russia investigation, which special counsel Robert Mueller was appointed to lead after Comey's ouster. In a follow-up, the Washington Post reported the president took steps to try to protect his conversations with Russian President Vladimir Putin, including pressuring a translator to withhold information on discussions between the two leaders from administration officials.

Trump's top spokeswoman, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders, called the Times report "absurd."

Bernstein argued the new reports add to a "looming question" that journalists and "even Fox News reporters" are asking: Do Republicans believe the president is a threat to national security?