WaPo Writer Lies, Creates Fakes News That Ford Questioner Worked for Sheriff Joe
After Arizona sex crimes prosecutor Rachel Mitchell was hired to question both Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh and his accuser, Washington Post columnist Jennifer Rubin launched a crusade to destroy Mitchell’s credibility.
However, Rubin just ended up inflicting collateral damage on herself.
On Tuesday night, Rubin went to Twitter to claim that Mitchell, the only kind of attorney the “clueless old white guys” of the Senate Judiciary Committee would pick, lacks trustworthiness because she is “from Sheriff Joe’s operation.”
Rubin was referring to former Sheriff Joe Arpaio, the controversial sheriff of Maricopa County in Arizona from 1993 to 2016. The self-titled “toughest sheriff in America” was pardoned by President Donald Trump in 2017 after he was found guilty of criminal contempt when he denied a judge’s order to stop enforcing immigration laws.
“Only this crowd of clueless old white guys wold (sic) pick someone from Sheriff Joe’s operation,” Rubin tweeted. “I was saying no self-respecting lawyer would take the job of giving cover to GOP cowards. I was right.”
Only this crowd of clueless old white guys wold pick someone from Sheriff Joe's operation. I was saying no self-respecting lawyer would take the job of giving cover to GOP cowards. I was right.
— Jennifer Truth Over Phony Balance Rubin 🇺🇦🇮🇱 (@JRubinBlogger) September 26, 2018
Actually, her tweet was wrong. Mitchell works in the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office in Phoenix as deputy county attorney and the chief of the Special Victims Division. She does not work for the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office, as Rubin claimed.
“The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office is a completely separate agency than the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office,” Maricopa County Attorney Office spokeswoman Amanda Steele told Fox News.
Either Rubin doesn’t know the difference between the sheriff’s office and the county attorney’s office (we mentioned she’s a Washington Post journalist, right?) or she was trying to get away with lying to discredit Mitchell. Either way it’s an unfortunate look at the current state of the political climate — and at contemporary journalism.
Attempts to malign Mitchell — before she’s even done any questioning in the Kavanuagh case — are especially disgusting considering her history of working to help victims of sexual abuse. Mitchell is a decorated prosecutor who has been working since 1993.
She’s spent a career in prosecutions dealing especially with sex-related offenses, such as sexual assault, domestic violence, and child molestation.
According to The New York Times, her honors include being named “Outstanding Arizona Sexual Assault Prosecutor of the Year” in 2003.
Check out this Fox News segment to see how she’s regarded by her colleagues:
Senate Republicans announced late Tuesday that Mitchell was hired to question both Kavanuagh and his accuser Palo Alto University Professor Christine Blasey Ford — the one who might sorta possibly show up to the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Thursday. (Senate Democrats have had no recent direct contact with Ford, Politico reported Wednesday morning.)
On why the attorney was brought in, Judiciary Committee Chairman Sen. Chuck Grassley said that he wants the hearing to be a “safe, comfortable, and dignified” setting.
“The goal is to de-politicize the process and get to the truth, instead of grandstanding and giving senators an opportunity to launch their presidential campaigns,” the Iowa Republican wrote in a statement announcing Mitchell’s appointment. “I’m very appreciative that Rachel Mitchell has stepped forward to serve in this important and serious role.”
Senate Democrats will still be given the opportunity to question Kavanaugh and Ford during the hearing.
Meanwhile, Rubin came under fire after people called her out for her completely false tweet. Some criticized Rubin for spreading “fake news,” while others called the tweet a “smear.”
'She doesn't care': True 'conservative' Jennifer Rubin strikes again, this time with a FALSE SMEAR of Arizona prosecutor Rachel Miller https://t.co/dns1PXU01c
— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) September 26, 2018
The county attorney in Maricopa is a separate elected office and doesn't report to the sheriff. Two minutes on Google would have prevented this embarrassing tweet. https://t.co/lqsXt0uNUD
— Dan Caldwell 🇺🇸 (@dandcaldwell) September 26, 2018
This is a smear based on false information, and should be retracted. https://t.co/XbAxfZ1RhS
— Ramesh Ponnuru (@RameshPonnuru) September 26, 2018
2,900 tweets and counting for a tweet maligning someone with patently false information.
Mitchell works for the Maricopa County Attorney, not Maricopa County Sheriff. https://t.co/yXyhpZknEf
— Senator Hatch Office (@senorrinhatch) September 26, 2018
Rubin eventually sent a follow up tweet about 15 hours — and thousands of likes and retweets — later.
“To be clear: The county atty represents the sheriff’s office but she did not. She works in sex crimes division,” she wrote Wednesday morning.
To be clear: The county atty represents the sheriff's office but she did not. She works in sex crimes division
— Jennifer Truth Over Phony Balance Rubin 🇺🇦🇮🇱 (@JRubinBlogger) September 26, 2018
Rubin did not apologize for her misleading tweet or offer any explanation as to why she was so bent on defaming Mitchell and the Senate Republicans for hiring her.
Let’s hope that Grassley’s “dignified” approach to the hearing prevails over the unscrupulous one Rubin acted out.
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