Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsA plea to the media: Stop regurgitating anonymous GOP attacks
The attacks on Cassidy Hutchinson have been from unnamed sources not under oath.
Link to tweet
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/06/30/media-anonymous-attacks-jan-6-hearing-cassidy-hutchinson/
After Hutchinsons devastating testimony, numerous media outlets including The Post also reported Tuesday afternoon that unnamed sources at the U.S. Secret Service claimed agents in Trumps vehicle would dispute her account that Trump assaulted an agent or grabbed the steering wheel after being told that he couldnt go to the Capitol on Jan. 6.
Certainly the House Jan. 6 Select Committee should hear from all relevant witnesses under oath. But Bobby Engel, the head of the presidents protective detail who was in the car at the time, had already spoken at length to the committee. He confirmed the gravamen of her account that Trump was irate about not be able to going to the Capitol.
The media lack any basis to parse Hutchinsons claim that Trump lunged toward the agent, which might not mean that Trump assaulted him, as the Secret Service sources put it. The Posts Carol D. Leonnig also provided the desperately needed context Tuesday evening that many Secret Service agents, including Engel, are viewed as being aligned with Donald Trump......
Creating a false equivalence between detailed testimony under oath and an anonymous source vouching for Trump is misleading at best and at worse serves the Trump camps disinformation machine. Be prepared for more of this kind of frenzied chatter as the mainstream media fall back into bad habits repeating Trumps lies, shrugging at the mind-bending complicity of GOP officials such as House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (Calif.) and treating statements from known Republican dissemblers as equally credible as those with no motive to lie and no history of disinformation.
The media would better serve the public if it followed two rules: First, unless they have new factual information that meet the standards for anonymous sourcing, respectable publications should not afford anonymity to those offering takes from Trumps camp. Second, if a source is going to contest testimony under oath, the outlet should determine if the source already met with the Jan. 6 committee and consider the credibility and relevance of the sources story (or testimony).
Certainly the House Jan. 6 Select Committee should hear from all relevant witnesses under oath. But Bobby Engel, the head of the presidents protective detail who was in the car at the time, had already spoken at length to the committee. He confirmed the gravamen of her account that Trump was irate about not be able to going to the Capitol.
The media lack any basis to parse Hutchinsons claim that Trump lunged toward the agent, which might not mean that Trump assaulted him, as the Secret Service sources put it. The Posts Carol D. Leonnig also provided the desperately needed context Tuesday evening that many Secret Service agents, including Engel, are viewed as being aligned with Donald Trump......
Creating a false equivalence between detailed testimony under oath and an anonymous source vouching for Trump is misleading at best and at worse serves the Trump camps disinformation machine. Be prepared for more of this kind of frenzied chatter as the mainstream media fall back into bad habits repeating Trumps lies, shrugging at the mind-bending complicity of GOP officials such as House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (Calif.) and treating statements from known Republican dissemblers as equally credible as those with no motive to lie and no history of disinformation.
The media would better serve the public if it followed two rules: First, unless they have new factual information that meet the standards for anonymous sourcing, respectable publications should not afford anonymity to those offering takes from Trumps camp. Second, if a source is going to contest testimony under oath, the outlet should determine if the source already met with the Jan. 6 committee and consider the credibility and relevance of the sources story (or testimony).
InfoView thread info, including edit history
TrashPut this thread in your Trash Can (My DU » Trash Can)
BookmarkAdd this thread to your Bookmarks (My DU » Bookmarks)
2 replies, 530 views
ShareGet links to this post and/or share on social media
AlertAlert this post for a rule violation
PowersThere are no powers you can use on this post
EditCannot edit other people's posts
ReplyReply to this post
EditCannot edit other people's posts
Rec (7)
ReplyReply to this post
2 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight:
NoneDon't highlight anything
5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
A plea to the media: Stop regurgitating anonymous GOP attacks (Original Post)
LetMyPeopleVote
Jul 2022
OP
JohnSJ
(92,219 posts)1. Jennifer Rubin is right
Kaleva
(36,309 posts)2. We had a few OPs here saying there may be problems with Cassidy's testimony