CNN Furious that Clinton Foundation member Matt Lauer interrupted Hillary, claims went easy on Trump despite him being asked 2x the questions

 NBC News knows the "Commander-in-Chief Forum" was not Matt Lauer's finest hour.


One executive, speaking anonymously, was blunt about it: "Disaster."


The day after Lauer's back-to-back interviews of Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, several high ranking sources at the network said they hear the criticism and agree with at least some of it.


Even his internal defenders acknowledge flaws in the forum's production.


Lauer was widely criticized for failing to fact-check or follow up when Trump falsely claimed that he was opposed to the Iraq war when it started. Some viewers thought Lauer held Clinton to a higher standard than Trump. The Clinton campaign agreed -- it blasted off a fund-raising email on Thursday afternoon titled "Matt Lauer."



But this was not merely partisan warfare. Prominent journalists were sharply critical of NBC. And several people who were sitting in the audience told CNN that they were frustrated too.


The ratings for Wednesday night's forum were strong -- almost 15 million people tuned in.


But the reviews were pitiful. So what went wrong? That's what journalists both inside and outside NBC are asking now. There is no clear answer.


Lack of preparation is one theory.