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Friday, December 19, 2014
Newsmax's Ruddy Laments 'Persecution' Of Christie As His Website Champions Persecution of Hillary
Topic: Newsmax

Christopher Ruddy complains in a Dec. 17 Newsmax column:

The ongoing probes of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and his associates over the so-called Bridge-gate matter boil down to another example of political prosecutions that border on political persecutions.

The case involving the George Washington Bridge occurred in January, nearly a year ago, and should be open and shut by now.

Christie was recently cleared in a report by a New Jersey legislative committee of any prior knowledge of the plan to impede traffic onto the bridge by closing access lanes.

No one thinks or believes he ordered the closing of any bridge lanes. So why the worry?

It is clear that some of his aides may have acted out of political considerations in their decision to close the lanes. If that is the case, their actions were stupid, but not criminal.

[...]

Yet in a strange way, the Left's attempt to persecute Christie could actually help his GOP standing because it is so obviously motivated by their worry he actually might be the GOP nominee.

Hence, the Democrats want to keep pushing Bridge-gate as far as they can and for as long as they can. Perhaps they have finally gone a bridge too far and should finally “shut up,” as the New Jersey governor might put it.

Ruddy might have a point if Newsmax wasn't pushing another political persecution elsewhere on its pages the very same day. From a Dec. 17 unbylined Newsmax article:

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton could be called to testify before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee in the next Congress, said the incoming committee chairman, Rep. Jason Chaffetz.

According to The Hill, the committee intends to investigate the issue of embassy security in the coming congressional session, and the Utah Republican said that Clinton's record in managing it as secretary of state will be examined.

He said Clinton, "changed the way we do embassy security and how we build the infrastructure there and she created a mess. It's a disaster!" The Hill reported.

Asked if Clinton could be called before the committee as a witness, Chaffetz said, "I'm not going to rule that out."

The article did not mention the fact that, as ABC News reported, "Multiple independent, bipartisan and GOP-led inquiries have faulted the State Department for inadequate security in Benghazi, leading to four demotions," or that the State Department has implemented recommendations regarding embassy security made by an independent review board. 

the fact that Chaffetz seems intent on dragging Clinton before yet another congressional committee even though she left the secretary of state post nearly a year ago suggest that he's acting on behalf of Republicans fearful that she may be the Democratic presidential nominee in 2016 and simply wants to keep pushing anything Benghazi-related as far as he can.

Ruddy doesn't explain why he apparently has no problem with cheerleading a political persecution of Hillary Clinton.


Posted by Terry K. at 6:59 PM EST
Sunday, December 14, 2014
Newsmax Plays Class-Warfare Card on Obama Kids
Topic: Newsmax

James Morrison snarkily writes in a Dec. 11 Newsmax article:

While many public school students complain about lunchtime mush that meets White House calorie guidelines, President Barack Obama's daughters are dining on gourmet meals at a posh private school in Washington.

School kids have been moaning about tasteless fare local governments adopt to comply with first lady Michelle Obama’s war on the waistline and posting photos of the mystery meals online.

The Sidwell Friends School, the $36,000-a-year private academy attended by Malia and Sasha Obama, also posts its menus on the Internet.

The Daily Caller discovered that Sidwell students eat well.

Thursday’s lunch included: potato sausage soup, firecracker slaw, California chef’s salad, all natural Jamaican jerk chicken wings, sweet potato black-bean bake, sauteed local greens, gemelli alfredo, and slice pineapple.

Morrison's reference to "gourmet meals at a posh private school" got further emphasis in the headline, which screamed "Obama's Daughters Enjoy Gourmet Lunches at Posh School."

Morrison doesn't explain why he has chosen to make such a blatant class-warfare-based attack on the Obama daughters.

Posted by Terry K. at 11:16 PM EST
Updated: Sunday, December 14, 2014 11:17 PM EST
Tuesday, December 9, 2014
Newsmax Promotes Ben Carson's Propaganda
Topic: Newsmax

Jim Meyers serves up quite the cheerleading tone in a Dec. 8 Newsmax article:

A just-released documentary about the best-selling author and rising GOP star Ben Carson is getting rave reviews from conservative activists — a strong sign that the renowned neurosurgeon is seriously looking at running for the GOP presidential nomination in 2016.

The hour-long film "A Breath of Fresh Air: A New Prescription for America," airs every night this week on Newsmax TV at 9 p.m. and midnight Eastern Time, Monday through Friday.

You can tune into Newsmax TV on DIRECTV 349 and DISH Ch. 223, on NewsmaxTV.com, or via the free Newsmax app on any smartphone.

One thing Meyers doesn't mention: Newsmax is apparently being paid to air the Carson propaganda documentary.

A National Journal article that Meyers cites for its praise of Carson as a potential presidential candidate also notes that the documentary's producer, Armstrong Williams, insists that the documentary will never be placed online because that "would violate his paid-programming contract with the networks that aired it." That, preumably, includes Newsmax TV, which means that Newsmax is promoting something it's being paid to air.

National Journal also notes the propagandistic nature of the documentary:

In tone, A Breath of Fresh Air lies somewhere between a Church of Scientology recruitment video and a cash-for-gold infomercial. In the documentary, you'll learn about the dangers of political correctness and the "liberal orthodoxy," along with the triumphs of Ronald Reagan and Galileo. You'll also hear an almost inscrutable metaphor about American greatness and oxygen masks.

Meyers just wants you to watch Newsmax TV. He doesn't care about the quality or objectivity of its programming.

UPDATE: A Newsmax spokesperson tells ConWebWatch: "Newsmax was not paid to air the film, nor did we pay Dr. Carson anything."


Posted by Terry K. at 10:41 PM EST
Updated: Wednesday, December 10, 2014 8:01 PM EST
Friday, December 5, 2014
Newsmax Writer's 'News' Article Stuffed With Editorializing
Topic: Newsmax

Nick Sanchez's Dec. 2 Newsmax article on Chris Rock's comments about President Obama is filed under "The Wire," which presmably means it's supposed to be a "news" article. But Sanchez goes on a severe editorializing bender:

Comedian Chris Rock thinks President Barack Obama turned out more like a Shaquille O'Neal than the Michael Jordan that the nation expected.

"Everybody wanted Michael Jordan, right? We got Shaq. That’s not a disappointment. You know what I mean? We got Charles Barkley. It’s still a Hall of Fame career," Rock told New York magazine in an interview published Sunday.

Rock's analogy is shaky at best, as Obama will likely finish his presidency with one of the lowest approval ratings of any outgoing president. The broad strokes of his presidency – the failed stimulus, the undoing of progress in Iraq, and the ongoing disaster of Obamacare – doesn't put him in league with either the highest rated or most accomplished presidents. He's no FDR or Reagan, that’s for sure.

Even by Rock's own standard, which he laid out in the same breath as the Shaq/Jordan analogy, Obama is nowhere near Hall of Fame status.

"The president should be graded on jobs and peace, and the other stuff is debatable. Do more people have jobs, and is there more peace?' asked Rock. "I guess there’s a little more peace. Not as much peace as we’d like, but I mean, that’s kind of the gig. I don’t recall anybody leaving on an up. It’s just that kind of job."

Peace is on the wane. The U.S. is looking at active threats from resurgent terrorist groups – which Obama likened to "jayvee" teams in Lakers jerseys – and diplomatic relations with traditional allies like Turkey and Israel are in shambles. That's not even to mention ever-worsening threats from Russia and Iran.

In fact, the stimulus wasn't a failure, Obamacare is an "ongoing disaster" only to right-wingers like Sanchez whose failed attempts to repeal it are the real ongoing disaster, and it's hardly solely Obama's fault that "peace is on the wane." So it's not even factual editorializing.

If this is what passes for "news" at Newsmax these days, its efforts to be taken seriously as a news outlet are doomed to failure.


Posted by Terry K. at 7:30 PM EST
Wednesday, December 3, 2014
Newsmax Columnist Goes Godwin on Guns In Israel
Topic: Newsmax

In a Nov. 26 Newsmax column, Stephen P. Halbrook goes Godwin by likening restrictive gun laws in Israel to, yes, Nazis:

Restrictive gun laws, imposed by a well-meaning government, deprive people of the means of self-defense. So say Second Amendment advocates. Modern history and recent headlines alike support their argument.

The recent atrocities in Israel, where terrorists slaughtered four unarmed Jewish citizens at prayer — three of them rabbis — have led that nation’s government to peel back some of its draconian laws restricting the private ownership of firearms.

The new proposals do not go nearly far enough, extending only to a small group of Israelis already licensed to carry firearms, such as security guards. It’s doubtful that such a reform would prevent a repeat of this week’s slaughter.

With all due respect to a grieving, embattled nation, Israeli lawmakers — and freedom-loving Americans — should remember some tragic events of history.

In 1943, Nazi Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels fulminated, “The Jews have actually succeeded in making a defensive position of the Ghetto . . .  It shows what is to be expected of the Jews when they are in possession of arms.” He was outraged at the Warsaw Ghetto uprising, which impeded deportations to the death camps and allowed partisans to escape and fight from the forests.

[...]

One of Weimar’s emergency decrees imposed strict registration of firearms, and gave the state authority to confiscate them if “public security” so required. But the decree backfired: Law-abiding citizens had duly registered their guns, while the private armies maintained by the Nazis and communists had not. Worse still, this decree put obedient citizens at risk.

As the Weimar Interior Minister warned about the registration records: “Precautions must be taken that these lists cannot . . . fall into the hands of radical elements.”

Just a year later, in 1933, the worst “radical elements” in Germany indeed came to power.

Curiously, Halbrook never explains which Israeli gun laws are so "draconian" as to be Nazi-esque. In fact, those laws appear to be quite commonsensical. The Washington Post summarizes:

Israel limits gun ownership to security workers, people who transport valuables or explosives, residents of the West Bank, and hunters. People who don't fall into one of those categories cannot obtain a firearm permit. Moreover, Israel rejects 40 percent of firearm permit applicants, the highest rejection rate in the Western world. Both Switzerland and Israel require yearly (or more frequent) permit renewals to insure that the reasons are still applicable.

Janet Rosenbaum, an assistant professor of epidemiology at the School of Public Health at the State University of New York (SUNY) Downstate Medical Center School, explained: "Ten years ago, when Israel had the outbreak of violence, there was an expansion of gun ownership, but only to people above a certain rank in the military. There was no sense that having ordinary citizens [carry guns] would make anything safer."

Halbrook doesn't explain how anything he proposes for Israel -- by way of invoking Nazis -- would change that.


Posted by Terry K. at 11:00 AM EST
Thursday, November 27, 2014
Yes, Newsmax TV Show On JFK Assassination Was A Discredited Conspiracy Theory
Topic: Newsmax

Remember that big "I Killed JFK" conspiracy theory special on Newsmax TV? Yeah, we didn't watch it either. But someone else did, and it turned out to be exactly what we predicted.

According to Inquisitr, the Newsmax show featured the confession of James Files, who says he was the man on the grassy knoll. Inquisitr notes Files' credibility problems, adding that "whether you believe James Files’ story depends largely on whether you trust Newsmax as a news source, and many people don’t believe a word of it."

As we previously noted, promoting a shady character in a JFK conspiracy theory is probably not the best way to position Newsmax TV as a credible news source.


Posted by Terry K. at 10:56 PM EST
Wednesday, November 19, 2014
Newsmax TV To Air What Sure Sounds Like A JFK Conspiracy Show
Topic: Newsmax

Newsmax is strategically vague in a Nov. 13 article promoting a new show on its fledgling TV channel:

Marking the 51st anniversary of President John F. Kennedy’s assassination on Nov. 22, 1963, Newsmax TV will air the explosive, world premiere one-hour documentary "I Killed JFK" on Thursday Nov. 20, at 9 p.m. ET.

The documentary adds to the diverse programming featured on Newsmax TV, the new news, information and lifestyle channel that is currently ramping up to a formal roll-out in 2015.

Produced by Barry Katz Entertainment, "I Killed JFK" features never-before seen footage of the confessed killer of President Kennedy. The film presents compelling forensic and eyewitness evidence previously unavailable to the public. The documentary also includes interviews with the alleged assassin as well as two former FBI agents who found the assassin’s confessions credible.

"Until now, no one has ever confessed to the murder of JFK, and most people still believe that Lee Harvey Oswald was the killer. After the world sees this special, I am confident that the greatest mystery of our generation will finally be solved," said Executive Producer Barry Katz.

"As we ramp up Newsmax TV for our official launch, we're offering a range of provocative and original programming that interests a large and under-served audience, including the generation raised in the aftermath of that tragic day in Dallas," Newsmax Media CEO Christopher Ruddy said. "They’ll see a movie that adds to the scholarship and the debate surrounding the president's assassination."

"We are heartened by Newsmax TV's decision to bring this important and revealing program to the American public. We all deserve to know the truth behind what was truly one of the saddest moments in our country’s history," added Ernest Cartwright, co-executive producer for the project.

We couldn't find any other information about this documentary beyond a bare-bones website promoting the producers' production company. Reading between the lines, one can surmise that it appears to be another one of those JFK conspiracy things. As far as we know, Oswald never confessed to killing JFK, so the references above to the "alleged assassin" who allegedly confessed is apparently a reference to somebody else.

That doesn't exactly bode well for Newsmax TV's attempt to be something of a mainstream news outlet.

Interestingly, Newsmax is not the only part of the ConWeb going with JFK assassination conspiracy theories. The URL CorsiOnJFK.com takes you to WorldNetDaily hack Jerome Corsi's latest e-book claiming to summarize " the most important new research investigating the JFK assassination." In it, Corsi says he "believes investigations into the JFK Assassination are close to establishing irrefutable evidence documenting the JFK assassination a government-organized coup d’état, not the act of a lone-gun assassin." The website add: "Dr. Corsi fully expects the final true history of the JFK assassination will expose to the American pubic the history of CIA lies and disinformation that have distorted U.S. history since World War II, in favor of a series of international conflicts and wars favored by the military-industrial complex that JFK lost his life trying to prevent."

The fact that Corsi has already discounted his e-book to $4.90 (original price $9.99) tells you pretty much what even its author thinks his book is worth.

(Photo: How Stuff Works)


Posted by Terry K. at 9:48 PM EST
Updated: Thursday, November 20, 2014 12:21 PM EST
Thursday, November 6, 2014
Newsmax Falsely Portrays Pat Caddell As A Democrat
Topic: Newsmax

A Nov. 5 Newsmax article by Greg Richter introduces Pat Caddell as a "Democratic pollster" who's denouncing Harry Reid. But he's not a Democrat -- or at least he hasn't been in decades.

Caddell hasn't done anything for Democrats in years -- as we've pointed out, he's frequently seen on right-leaning Fox News where, as Salon's Alex Pareene notes, "he’ll reliably repeat every idiotic right-wing talking point that comes down the pike." Caddell also served as a consultant on an anti-Obama film made by right-wing group Citizens United. 

It seems that Newsmax has fallen into the Fox News pattern of presenting Caddell as a "Democrat" even though they know he will reliably bash Democrats at every opportunity. That's dishonest journalism, and Richter and Newsmax should know better.


Posted by Terry K. at 3:42 PM EST
Monday, November 3, 2014
Newsmax's Gizzi Smears Kansas Senate Candidate
Topic: Newsmax

John Gizzi writes in a Nov. 3 Newsmax column:

With less than 24 hours to go before Kansans decides what is inarguably one of the most intriguing U.S. Senate races of 2014, signs are growing strong that independent hopeful Greg Orman is fast running out of steam in his effort to unseat Republican Sen. Pat Roberts.

Whether it's his last-minute remark suggesting Kansas's much-loved Bob Dole was a "clown" or Republicans rallying over fear that the insurgent candidate will vote with Democrats to organize the Senate if elected, millionaire businessman Orman could well go the way of the last major independent candidate in the Sunflower State: Dr. John Brinkley, famed for transplanting the sex glands of goats into males, who came in a strong third in a nationally watched three-way race for governor in 1932.

Aside from Gizzi's desperate smear of Orman by likening him to a charlatan doctor, he misinterpreted what Orman said. From the Washington Post:

Independent Kansas Senate candidate Greg Orman sent a 256-word e-mail to former Senate majority leader Bob Dole last Friday, denying that he referred to the Republican luminary as a “clown” last week.

“I want to assure you that this is not true and is not my opinion of you in any way, shape or form,” Orman wrote. “My reference to a ‘clown car’ was commenting on the near-endless number of political supporters of Senator [Pat] Roberts who have piled out of Washington to support him, none of whom I think are clowns. I certainly wasn't calling you - or any of the others supporting Senator Roberts - a ‘clown.’”

Speaking earlier last Friday, Orman derided the stream of GOP surrogates who have come to Kansas to boost Sen. Pat Roberts (R), a three-term incumbent. Political visitors have included Mitt Romney, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), and Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.). “It sort of seems like a Washington establishment clown car to me. Every day a new person comes out of that car,” Orman said.

Despite misleading his readers about the nature of Orman's remarks, Gizzi insists that "Most observers agree that Orman was badly hurt last week by his quip," though he doesn't name any of those "observers."

It's not until the final paragraph of his column that Gizzi concedes one major difference between the two-way race between Roberts and Orman and the 1932 governor's race that involved Brinkley:

Orman is not in a three-way contest as Brinkley was 82 years ago, and in many ways he is the de facto Democratic nominee. But Orman's fate may well be the same as the "goat gland doctor" in the closing days of the 2014 race.

Gizzi references goat glands or goat testicles four times in his column, driving home his desperate smear.


Posted by Terry K. at 7:44 PM EST
Tuesday, October 28, 2014
Is A Future Ruddy Candidacy Behind Newsmax's Endorsement of Rick Scott?
Topic: Newsmax

After first opposing his campaign in 2010, Newsmax learned to love the idea of Rick Scott for Florida governor (though it took ignoring its own previous attacks on him to do so). Now that Scott is running for re-election, Newsmax has endorsed him again.

In an unsigned Oct. 26 editorial, Newsmax declared:

Early voting has already begun . . . so it's important to cast your vote in the closely watched Florida governor's race.

And when you do, Newsmax strongly encourages you to vote for Rick Scott.

We endorse Florida's Republican Gov. Rick Scott for re-election for three compelling reasons: jobs, jobs, and jobs.

What Newsmax isn't telling you: how much it has donated to Scott's PAC.

As we've previously documented, Newsmax Media gave $100,000 to Scott's Let's Get To Work PAC in  2010. In 2012, Newsmax donated another $5,000.

Additionally, Newsmax Media has donated at least $200,000 to the Florida Republican Party in recent years.

With its endorsement of Scott, Newsmax is not acting as a media outlet -- with its monetary interests in Florida politics, it's trying to buy influence. It has a vested interest in doing so; Newsmax CEO Christopher Ruddy's name was floated as a possible Senate candidate for 2012.

Two of the best ways to keep political ambitions alive is to support the party you like and support its candidates. Through Newsmax, Ruddy is doing both.


Posted by Terry K. at 8:35 PM EDT
Wednesday, October 15, 2014
Of Course Newsmax Has A Special Deal For Dick Morris' Book
Topic: Newsmax

It wouldn't be Newsmax if they weren't trying to sell Dick Morris' new Newsmax-published book in some kind of loss-leader deal, and by golly, they don't disappoint.

Here's the deal:Buy Morris' book from Newsmax for just $9.95 and they'll throw in an entire year of Newsmax magazine for free.

The usual caveat applies, though: You have to remember to unsubscribe from the magazine when the year is up, otherwise you will be automatically charged $39.95 for the following year's subscription.

Newsmax just loves these kinds of loss-leader deals.


Posted by Terry K. at 8:19 PM EDT
Friday, October 10, 2014
Dick Morris And People With Incompetence Written All Over Them
Topic: Newsmax

Courtney Coren writes in an Oct. 8 Newsmax article:

When Republicans attack President Barack Obama in their campaigns for the upcoming midterm elections, they ought to focus on his incompetence, says veteran political analyst Dick Morris.

"We are so busy attacking him from the right over ideology and issue differences," Morris, author of the new book "Power Grab: Obama's Dangerous Plan for a One Party Nation," told J.D. Hayworth on "America's Forum" on Newsmax TV Wednesday.

"If you just look at the issue of competence — incompetence at the VA, incompetence at the Secret Service, incompetence in protecting Benghazi, incompetence in assessing the risk of ISIS, and incompetence in dealings with Russia — you're dealing with a president who has incompetence written all over him," he explained.

That's rather rich coming from a pundit who has incompetence written all over him.

Coren didn't mention Morris' history of political incompetence, nor did she disclose that his book is published by her employer.


Posted by Terry K. at 9:36 PM EDT
Tuesday, October 7, 2014
Newsmax Pushes Morris' New Book, His False Claims
Topic: Newsmax

Dick Morris has made himself toxic enough that few in political media want anything to do with him, but Newsmax has dutifully led Morris' image rehab, to the point of publishing his new book. Now, that book must be promoted, and unsurprisingly, Newsmax is taking the lead there as well.

An Oct. 1 Newsmax article by Melissa Clyne touted Morris' claim on a Newsmax TV show that "President Barack Obama has missed 58 percent of the national security intelligence briefings during each of his terms in office."

Because Clyne is in promotion mode instead of journalism mode, she couldn't be bothered to tell her readers that Morris' claim is bogus. The Washington Post reported two years ago that Obama always reads the intelligence briefing and discusses it with advisers in a daily foreign-policy meeting. Thus, he does not need to attend a briefing for an oral report.

Nevertheless, Clyne parrots Morris' conspiratorial assertion that "Obama does not really care about foreign policy because his ultimate goal is a one-party system."

An Oct. 3 article finds Greg Richter similarly in stenographer moe, promoting Morris' appearance on a Fox News show to again claim that "Obama is implementing an agenda to destroy two-party rule in America."

Richter also uncritically repeats Morris' unsupported assertion that Hillary Clinton, while working as a lawyer for the Watergate committee, "stole documents to try to prejudice Nixon's case to make it impossible for Nixon to have a lawyer represent him in impeachment proceedings if they had been held." That's a claim that originates with another Watergate staffer, Jerry Zeifman; as we've documented, Zeifman has paraded himself as a Democrat who bashes Democrats, and he has made contradictory claims about firing Clinton from the committee.

None of what Morris is saying is trustworthy, but Newsmax won't tell you that because it has books to sell.


Posted by Terry K. at 10:59 PM EDT
Sunday, September 28, 2014
The Rehab Continues: Newsmax Publishes Dick Morris' New Book
Topic: Newsmax

Since his spectacular punditry flameout during the 2012 presidential election, Newsmax has been giving Dick Morris the space to rehabilitate his image. Now Newsmax has arrived at the next step in the rehab process: the book.

A Sept. 24 Newsmax article by Jim Meyers is in full promotion mode:

What is Obama's real end game?

Now, for the first time, noted political strategist Dick Morris reveals Obama's secret strategy in his powerful new book "Power Grab: Obama's Dangerous Plan for a One-Party Nation."

In "Power Grab," Morris warns that America is at a crossroads — we can choose the path of the Founding Fathers and keep a strong constitutional government that thrives on our bipartisan spirit, or opt for President Barack Obama’s dream: a nation ruled by one political party with a far-left agenda.

Morris writes that almost all of Obama's key initiatives and agenda items have one common theme: They seek to turn America into a banana republic ruled by one party, by putting the Republican Party out of business — effectively ending America's long bipartisan system of government.

That's the dire warning from best-selling author and political insider Dick Morris and his co-author, Eileen McGann, in their compelling new book that is gaining national attention.

The authors make a convincing case that Obama has an overarching strategy in pushing his liberal agenda — one that grabs power from our traditional and bipartisan institutions in favor of a single party: his Democratic Party.


Meyers left a lot of things out of his article -- for instance, Morris' horrible history political prognostication and the fact that McGann is not just Morris' co-author, she's his wife. The biggest omission, however, is the fact that his employer is publishing Morris' book.

The Amazon page for Morris' book indicates that it's being published by Humanix Books. As we've documented, Humanix is Newsmax's book division.

Newsmax also gave Morris a Sept. 27 column to promote his book, in which he declares it to be "my new bestseller." That claim is hubristic at best and delusional at worst -- the book had been released only four days before Morris' column appeared, and as of this writing Amazon ranked the book at No. 146, which doesn't exactly scream bestseller status as of this point.


Posted by Terry K. at 8:29 PM EDT
Thursday, September 18, 2014
Newsmax's Malzberg Joins MRC In Protecting Sharyl Attkisson's Dubious Reporting
Topic: Newsmax

It's not just the Media Research Center that's uncritically buying into Sharyl Attkisson's questionable reporting on Benghazi. Newsmax has joined the lack of skepticism.

A Sept. 17 Newsmax article by Bill Hoffmann summarizes an appearance by Attkisson on Steve Malzberg's Newsmax TV show. Malzberg lets Attkisson get away with pretending her main source on her latest Benghazi scoop, Raymond Maxwell, is being unfairly dismissed as less than credible:

The media is out to discredit a former State Department diplomat who turned Benghazi whistleblower, says Emmy-winning journalist and former CBS News correspondent Sharyl Attkisson.

What is the dirt that reporters have on former Deputy Assistant Secretary Raymond Maxwell? He's written poetry, she says.

"One person tweeted out that she heard someone else or was told by someone else in the media that [Maxwell] had no credibility because of his poetry," Attkisson said Wednesday on "The Steve Malzberg Show" on Newsmax TV.

"He's a poet and he published, when he was on administrative leave, some very insightful allegories."

The full segment shows that Malzberg did not push back on Attkisson's ridiculous defense.

In fact, Maxwell has been credibly accused of much more than writing poetry. Media Matters summarizes:

Maxwell himself is a dubious source. He was placed on administrative leave after the Accountability Review Board's investigation found a "lack of proactive leadership" and pointed specifically to Maxwell's department, saying some officials in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs "showed a lack of ownership of Benghazi's security issues." A House Oversight Committee report released findings from the classified version of the ARB report, which revealed that the ARB's board members "were troubled by the NEA DAS for Maghreb Affairs' lack of leadership and engagement on staffing and security issues in Benghazi."

Disgruntled over being "the only official in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs (NEA), which had responsibility for Libya, to lose his job," Maxwell spoke to The Daily Beast in May 2013 in an attempt to "restore" his "honor." Maxwell, who had filed official grievances regarding his treatment, expressed anger that Mills -- the same staff member Maxwell speculated was involved in hiding potentially damaging documents -- "reneged" on a deal to eventually bring Maxwell back to the NEA after his leave.

While Maxwell has previously been interviewed by the ARB, the House Foreign Affairs Committee, the House Oversight Committee, the Daily Beast, and Examiner.com, this is curiously the first time this allegation has been made public.

Maxwell also has no evidence to prove his allegation that Benghazi documents were "scrubbed" to protect then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, nor did he ever witness such behavior taking place.

The fact that Attkisson is resporting to such a transparently diversionary defense of her source suggests that she knows his testimony can't stand up to genuine scrutiny. No wonder she's relying on the likes of the MRC and Newsmax to protect her.


Posted by Terry K. at 9:31 PM EDT

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