Sean Spicer’s Six-Month-Long Road to Resignation
The reported reason for now former White House press secretary Sean Spicer’s resignation Friday was President Donald Trump’s naming of Anthony Scaramucci as communications director, according to The New York Times. But it’s quite obvious that Spicer’s exit had been building over the past six months.
Kremlin Scandal: Did Sessions Lie About Meetings With Russian Ambassador?
Last year, when he was still a Senator, Jeff Sessions met with the Russian ambassador — twice. But he failed to mention those meetings when questioned about Russia during his confirmation hearing.
White House Excludes Media Outlets From Press Briefing
On the list were Trump-friendly outlets such as Breitbart News, the Washington Times, and OANN. Off the list were some of Trump’s favorite targets, including The New York Times and CNN. The Los Angeles Times was also excluded.
Russian Government Launches Western ‘Fake News’ Tracker
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs launched the page from its official website, featuring five reports from U.S. and British media. The publications are dramatically shown on the site, stamped with red text “Fake” above a Russian language disclaimer stating: “This material contains data, not corresponding to the truth.”
Danziger: With Fear And Favors
In an alternate universe imagined by Danziger, there is a bizarro New York Times — perhaps known as The Trump Times — that publishes only the kind of “alternative facts” pleasing to the president: Massacres in Bowling Green, terrorist refugees in Sweden, millions of fraudulent voters, and gigantic inaugural crowds. Just be happy you don’t live there, yet.
While New York Times Editors Bickered, Trump (And Putin) Got Away
Now that the horses have left the barn, trotted out the front gate, and are galloping headlong down the county road, editors at the New York Times have taken to public bickering about who left the stalls unlatched. Not that it’s doing the rest of us much good.
NY Times Embroiled In Controversy Over Its Coverage Of Russia And Trump
New questions have been raised about the Times’ decision late in the campaign to sit on the story that Russian officials may have compromising information on Trump. The Times public editor Liz Spayd suggests that the reason they didn’t run with the “explosive allegations” was that journalists didn’t think Trump was going to win the election, and the paper didn’t want to risk sparking a controversy by reporting on the dossier.
Justice Department: Trump Son-In-Law Kushner Can Serve As White House Adviser
The Justice Department said the president has special hiring authority that exempts White House positions from laws barring the president from naming a relative to lead a federal agency. However, if Trump chooses to officially hire Kushner and also give him security clearance, then conflict-of-interest laws would apply.
Meryl Streep, Trump’s Attack On A Reporter’s Disability, And Reality
Trump lies habitually, so unwinding the rationale behind any particular falsehood is difficult. But the result is a news environment in which facts become unstable, reality is constantly under attack, and both journalists and news consumers are unable to process new information within a coherent collective framework.
It’s Time To Banish ‘Trump Says’ Headlines — They Don’t Work
Lazy, misleading headlines play right into Trump’s strategy of routinely lying while also being historically inaccessible to reporters. Within that sphere, I’d suggest there’s a very specific headline problem — the “Trump says” formula. Solution? Ban uncritical, context-free “Trump says” headlines. It’s a good first step.
First Amendment Watch: November 2016
Following is a list of President-elect Donald Trump’s attacks on the media — and demonstrations of disregard for the press — from Election Day through the end of November.
5 Deeply Obnoxious Things We Learned About Donald Trump This Week
Donald Trump spent Thanksgiving week leaking his potential cabinet picks, making Mitt Romney grovel, and turning down security briefings.
Are Donald Trump’s Tweets Igniting A Culture War?
Twitter became a potent tool for Trump because it dovetails with the demands of today’s political environment: delivering brief, blunt statements that because of their pithiness seem authentic — truthful or not.
Don’t Lock Her Up? Conway Confirms Trump Won’t Pursue Clinton Probes On Email, Charity
Addressing the report in an interview with MSNBC, senior Trump advisor Kellyanne Conway did not deny it and indicated it was correct.
Complaining About ‘Nasty’ Tone, Trump Cancels Meeting With New York Times
“I canceled today’s meeting with the failing @nytimes when the terms and conditions of the meeting were changed at the last moment. Not nice,” Trump said in a Twitter post.
Trump’s Transition Signals He Will Continue To Be Incredibly Hostile To The Press
During the campaign, the Committee to Protect Journalists declared Trump an “unprecedented threat” to free press. So far, his transition has indicated that won’t be changing anytime soon.
How False Equivalence Ruins Trump-Clinton News Coverage
News outlets covering the presidential election have made the mistake of treating Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump as two equally flawed candidates. That false equivalence has made it harder for voters to understand the categorical differences between their options on November 8.
‘Civilized’ Nation Can’t Justify Torture
Chances are you haven’t thought about Guantanamo Bay – that American gulag – for a long time. Not everyone has the luxury of forgetting.
Experts: Trump’s Legal Threat Against New York Times ‘A Pure Loser’
Donald Trump’s threats to The New York Times for reporting allegations that he committed sexual assault are legally far-fetched and provide a troubling portrait of how a Trump administration would handle the press.
Two Women Tell New York Times That Trump Touched Them Inappropriately
CBS showed clips from its show Entertainment Tonight in 1992 with Trump addressing a group of 10-year-old girls, telling them he would be dating one of them in 10 years. He was 46 at the time.
Excerpt: Behind The Secretly Funded Right-Wing Attack On The Clinton Foundation
For conservative funders seeking to take down the most formidable Democratic presidential contender, Schweizer offered not just audacity and experience but his own nonprofit. As president of the Government Accountability Institute in Tallahassee, Florida, he could accept millions of dollars in tax-exempt funds for research, promotion, and expenses (including his $200,000 annual salary) from foundations and individuals. And unlike the Clintons, who had disclosed decades of tax returns and more than 300,000 foundation donors, Schweizer didn’t have to reveal any of his funders.
Exclusive Excerpt 2: ‘Man of the World: The Further Endeavors of Bill Clinton’
What they found in the flattened villages left Bill Clinton and his companions stunned, stricken, overwhelmed. There simply wasn’t much left of those places, their small stone houses and concrete storefronts all tumbled into a jagged rubble of rocks, broken red roof tiles, and smashed wood beams, all strewn amid streets that nobody had cleared, two months after the quake.
Exclusive Excerpt: ‘Man Of The World: The Further Endeavors Of Bill Clinton’
There was no means of escape from the gang of perhaps a dozen or so reporters, which felt to Bill Clinton like a horde of hundreds who suddenly had total access to him. Nor did Clinton feel he could simply walk away without answering any of their questions—some friendly, some not so friendly.
How Clinton Emails Became The New Whitewater: A ‘Scandal’ In Search Of A Crime
Recall that Whitewater, the-hard-to-follow pseudo-scandal sponsored by The New York Times in the 1990s, dragged on so long that it became hard to recall what the Clintons’ alleged original sin was. (Losing money on a real estate deal is against the law?)
The Latest Clinton Email ‘Scandal’ Is Still…No Scandal
Everyone in Washington, including the reporters who wrote these breathless stories, knows that the same kind of communications have occurred every day, at every level of government, for the past hundred years. It’s only a “scandal” if the Clinton Foundation is involved.