Topic: NewsBusters
A May 8 NewsBusters post by Noel Sheppard begins this way: "If Democrats had accused former House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Illinois) last year of earmarking funds that could help real estate investments owned by his wife, would the media have reported it?" He continued: "Well, the Associated Press published a story Monday about current House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-California) possibly earmarking funds that would benefit her husband's investments around the San Francisco Bay."
We've highlighted the weasel words above to show that Sheppard has no evidence that the earmarked money actually does benefit Pelosi's husband's investments. And in a fit of censorship, Sheppard chopped from his version of the article comments from Pelosi's office that put the situation in context: "Aides to the San Francisco Democrat denied any connection, noting that the waterfront improvements were requested by the Port of San Francisco and the four rental properties in question are at least a mile away."
Given that a mile typically comprises 12 to 16 city blocks, that's a long walk from Pelosi's investments to the port, making it unlikely that Pelosi would benefit.
Sheppard also did a censorship job in quoting from a New York Post article about the earmark, repeating Republican congressman Jeb Hensarling's statement, "The appearance is obviously not good, and she needs to be forthcoming about how this impacts her financial interest," but deleting the next paragraph in which the Post writes, "He didn't offer proof that Pelosi would benefit." Sheppard also excised a statement from Pelosi's spokesman:
Pelosi spokesman Drew Hammill said "1.1 miles is a long way in San Francisco," adding, "This isn't stuff that she pushed, this is what the port came to her with."
"This is another baseless attack from a Republican minority seeking to distract from real issues of the day."
Sheppard also quoted from a Congressional Quarterly article in which an anonymous "senior Republican aide" says, "If Tiger Woods teed a ball up at Pelosi’s million-dollar rental property, he could easily hit the earmark in two strokes, with a slight draw to avoid the water." That's an absurd claim, which Sheppard should know since he specifically censored the part stating that that the property is more than a mile away. We don't know of any golf courses with a par-2, 1,800-yard green; perhaps Sheppard does.
UPDATE: Media Matters has more on just how false that Tiger Woods comparison is.
