Behind Fox News' Baseless Seth Rich Story: The Untold Tale

[smilesammich 10,727]

told ya'll dc police weren't all working together to cover this up.

 

Quote

The Fox News Channel and a wealthy supporter of President Trump worked in concert under the watchful eye of the White House to concoct a story about the murder of a young Democratic National Committee aide, according to a lawsuit filed Tuesday.

The explosive claim is part of the lawsuit filed against Fox News by Rod Wheeler, a longtime paid commentator for the news network. The suit was obtained exclusively by NPR.

Wheeler alleges Fox News and the Trump supporter intended to deflect public attention from growing concern about the administration's ties to the Russian government. His suit charges that a Fox News reporter created quotations out of thin air and attributed them to him to propel her story.

Fox's president of news, Jay Wallace, told NPR Monday there was no "concrete evidence" that Wheeler was misquoted by the reporter, Malia Zimmerman. The news executive did not address a question about the story's allegedly partisan origins. Fox News declined to allow Zimmerman to comment for this story.

The story, which first aired in May, was retracted by Fox News a week later. Fox News has, to date, taken no action in response to what it said was a failure to adhere to the network's standards.

The lawsuit focuses particular attention on the role of the Trump supporter, Ed Butowsky, in weaving the story. He is a wealthy Dallas investor and unpaid Fox commentator on financial matters, who has emerged as a reliable Republican surrogate in recent years. Butowsky offered to pay for Wheeler to investigate the death of the DNC aide, Seth Rich, on behalf of his grieving parents in Omaha.

On April 20, a month before the story ran, Butowsky and Wheeler — the investor and the investigator — met at the White House with then Press Secretary Sean Spicer to brief him on what they were uncovering.

The first page of the lawsuit quotes a voicemail and text from Butowsky boasting that President Trump himself had reviewed drafts of the Fox News story just before it went to air and was published.

Spicer now tells NPR that he took the meeting as a favor to Butowsky, a reliable Republican voice. Spicer says he was unaware of any contact involving the president. Butowsky now tells NPR he was kidding about Trump's involvement.

"Rod Wheeler unfortunately was used as a pawn by Ed Butowsky, Fox News and the Trump administration to try and steer away the attention that was being given about the Russian hacking of the DNC e-mails," said Douglas Wigdor, Wheeler's lawyer.

 

http://www.npr.org/2017/08/01/540783715/lawsuit-alleges-fox-news-and-trump-supporter-created-fake-news-story

[Teddy B 17,252]

The Trump administration is the gift that keeps on giving, but not in a good way.

[smilesammich 10,727]

1 minute ago, Teddy B said:

The Trump administration is the gift that keeps on giving, but not in a good way.

all this talk about narratives. 

[Dashinka 25,220]

[smilesammich 10,727]

3 minutes ago, Bill & Katya said:

what? no cries of fake news? shivering up in here..

[Dashinka 25,220]

2 minutes ago, smilesammich said:

what? no cries of fake news? shivering up in here..

Who knows.  The Dems have had a lot of practice in making their eliminations look like something else to the police.

[Teddy B 17,252]

4 minutes ago, smilesammich said:

what? no cries of fake news? shivering up in here..

Bill went snowflake. Once someone goes snowflake on you it's game over, you lose! You may want to have this thread closed now.

[Dashinka 25,220]

Just now, Teddy B said:

Bill went snowflake. Once someone goes snowflake on you it's game over, you lose! You may want to have this thread closed now.

Of course.  I am all about being an MDL snowflake now.  Bring on that Democratic Socialism it is doing so well in Venezuela where they reign in cost by killing their opponents.

[Teddy B 17,252]

Just now, Bill & Katya said:

Of course.  I am all about being an MDL snowflake now.  Bring on that Democratic Socialism it is doing so well in Venezuela where they reign in cost by killing their opponents.

I call your snowflake and raise you two looney lefts.

[Dashinka 25,220]

5 minutes ago, Teddy B said:

I call your snowflake and raise you two looney lefts.

So you agree, the Left is looney.

 

[smilesammich 10,727]

31 minutes ago, Teddy B said:

Bill went snowflake. Once someone goes snowflake on you it's game over, you lose! You may want to have this thread closed now.

 but for why would maga harbingers of truth want to make such a thing up? 

[smilesammich 10,727]

31 minutes ago, Bill & Katya said:

Of course.  I am all about being an MDL snowflake now.  Bring on that Democratic Socialism it is doing so well in Venezuela where they reign in cost by killing their opponents.

you sure are running with the democratic socialism is socialism narrative. good work! power to the peepul!

[Teddy B 17,252]

9 minutes ago, smilesammich said:

you sure are running with the democratic socialism is socialism narrative. good work! power to the peepul!

Not in Venezuela.

[smilesammich 10,727]

4 minutes ago, Teddy B said:

Not in Venezuela.

barely ever snows there..guess why?!?

[Teddy B 17,252]

Just now, smilesammich said:

barely ever snows there..guess why?!?

Well, I'll take a stab at it and guess,.............. socialism?