White House Reportedly Issuing Demands to CNN, NYT, Fox: 'Ramp Up' Scrutiny of GOP to Combat Impeachment
The White House is calling for media organizations to do its work by attacking Republicans now that a formal impeachment inquiry has been launched, according to a new report.
On Tuesday, Speaker Kevin McCarthy authorized a formal impeachment inquiry based on preliminary findings of House committees that have been investigating the activities of the Biden family, with a focus on the actions of Hunter Biden and the extent to which President Joe Biden participated in those activities during and after the years when he was vice president. Joe Biden has insisted he was never involved in his son’s business ventures.
A draft copy of the letter to news organizations was obtained by CNN.
“It’s time for the media to ramp up its scrutiny of House Republicans for opening an impeachment inquiry based on lies,” wrote Ian Sams, a spokesman for the White House Counsel’s Office.
The letter said that an inquiry that does not have all of its evidence already gathered should “set off alarm bells for news organizations,” CNN reported.
CNN, The New York Times, Fox News, the Associated Press, CBS News, and other outlets will be sent the letter, CNN quoted “a White House official familiar with the matter” as saying.
The letter said balanced reporting cannot be pursued in this case.
“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,” Sams wrote.
“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.”
“This is not okay. The White House should not be encouraging, influencing or interfering in the editorial strategies of America’s newsrooms, including CNN and the New York Times,” journalist Matthew Keys wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
This is not okay. The White House should not be encouraging, influencing or interfering in the editorial strategies of America’s newsrooms, including CNN and the New York Times. https://t.co/Bk4IzrWZo6
— Matthew Keys (@MatthewKeysLive) September 13, 2023
In a post on his website that referred to the letter as the media’s “marching orders,” legal scholar and George Washington University professor Jonathan Turley deplored this effort to slant coverage of the Bidens, saying that it “removes any pretense of separation between the Biden personal legal team and the White House Counsel’s office.”
“The message is curious and concerning, particularly in the aggressive role being played by the White House Counsel’s office,” he wrote.
Noting that “the White House is now actively involved in pushing narratives and denying factual allegations linked to the Biden corruption scandal,” he said the Biden administration “could create Nixonian-type allegations of the abuse of office in the use of federal employees to counter impeachment efforts.”
The letter has an uncomfortable feeling of marching orders to the media. It is also notable in the role of White House Counsel’s office. It removes any pretense of separation between the Biden personal legal team and the White House Counsel’s office. https://t.co/YNXYxVxflG
— Jonathan Turley (@JonathanTurley) September 13, 2023
He wrote that the letter was a “call for media to tailor the coverage to push the position of the White House against this effort to ramp up the investigation into corruption. It is an approach that is already embraced by many in the media.”
“The letter has an uncomfortable feeling of marching orders to the media,” he wrote, saying that “the White House is now calling for the media to again form the wagons around the President and attack the impeachment effort as it did the laptop and the corruption investigation.”
“Once again, what is most disturbing is that the White House shows no reluctance or concern in making such an open pitch to the press. There is a sense of license in using the media as an extension of the White House press push. The fact that this is a representative of the White House counsel’s office is particularly chilling. This is not the press office but the counsel for the President calling on media to form a unified front against the Republicans and the impeachment inquiry,” he wrote.
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