Open Threads

This was mentioned in passing in an earlier thread but perhaps deserves its own post since we spend so much time here shaking our fists at the Beltway media. The White House Counsel’s Office sent a memo to major media outlets with the following (painfully awkward but righteously angry) subject line:

It’s Time For The Media To Do More To Scrutinize House Republicans’ Demonstrably False Claims That They’re Basing Impeachment Stunt On

Here’s a link to a story on it at The Hill. (I chose that outlet because they embedded a PDF of the memo on the page so you can read the whole thing if you choose.) Every administration I can remember — from Nixon to Biden — has complained about media coverage at some point, some with plenty of justification and some with none. But I can’t ever remember such specific media advice from a White House.

The memo notes that House Repubs, led by the deranged MT Greene of Georgia, have been investigating Biden for nine months and turned up nothing, let alone any evidence of malfeasance that meets the specific requirements for impeachment outlined in the U.S. Constitution.

The memo states that impeachment is supposed to be “grave, rare and historic” and provides a list of GOP congress-critters who have publicly denied that House Repubs possess any evidence that would justify impeachment.

Then the memo outlines how current reporting isn’t meeting the moment and reminds media outlets of their responsibility to the public:

(R)eporting that solely focuses on process rather than substance is woefully inadequate when it comes to something as historically grave as impeachment.

It’s time for the media to ramp up its scrutiny of House Republicans for opening an impeachment inquiry based on lies. When even House Republican members are admitting that there is simply no evidence that Joe Biden did anything wrong, much less impeachable, that should set off alarm bells for news organizations.

For years, Republicans in Congress have tried to muddy the waters by attracting media coverage of their allegations, and as they choose to move forward with impeachment, it is the responsibility of the independent press to treat their claims with the appropriate scrutiny. Covering impeachment as a process story – Republicans say X, but the White House says Y – is a disservice to the American public who relies on the independent press to hold those in power accountable.

And in the modern media environment, where every day liars and hucksters peddle disinformation and lies everywhere from Facebook to Fox, process stories that fail to unpack the illegitimacy of the claims on which House Republicans are basing all their actions only serve to generate confusion, put false premises in people’s feeds, and obscure the truth.

House Republican leaders should be held accountable for the fact that they are lurching toward impeachment over allegations that are not only unfounded but, in virtually all cases, have been actively disproven – including by witnesses and documents in their own investigations, as well as years-old congressional probes and even the former President’s first impeachment inquiry.

Wowzers! Every word is true. The House hearings have been a clown show from day one, and McCarthy flip-flopped on holding a vote before opening an inquiry (also mentioned in the memo) only because nutcases like Greene have his wizened little grapes in their fist.

I’m especially pleased to see Fox mentioned in the context of “liars and hucksters peddl(ing) disinformation and lies.” (I’d love to see the White House follow up by yanking the Doocy nepo-baby’s credentials.) Will it have any effect? I don’t know, but sometimes working the refs works.

Open thread.

White House Working the RefsPost + Comments (170)