Discredited NYT Issa Story Used as Basis for Left Group's Ethics Complaint
It would appear that there is a reason beyond alleged "journalistic integrity" why the New York Times hasn't pulled its error-riddled, only partially corrected mid-August story by Eric Lichtblau ("A Businessman in Congress Helps His District and Himself") about California Republican Congressman Darrell Issa.
Issa has identified 13 serious errors in the Times story, the cumulative effect of which, in the words of Powerline's John Hinderaker several weeks ago, show the story to be "nothing but lies and fabrications ... (which) never should have been published." The Times has corrected three. Though it appears to be dead wrong on the other ten, it hasn't given any further quarter and won't pull the story. Its Public Editor, as Clay Waters at NewsBusters noted, has found Issa's request for a retraction "troubling."
What's really troubling is that it appears that the Times's intransigence is from all appearances the result of a coordinated effort to neutralize Issa. That isn't how an early Tuesday report at The Hill ("Rep. Issa hit with ethics allegations") described it, but it's impossible to escape the implications:
A liberal advocacy group is filing an ethics complaint against Rep. Darrell Issa, alleging that the California Republican has repeatedly used his public office for personal gain.
The group, American Family Voices, is planning to file the complaint with the House Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE) on Tuesday.
The five-page complaint, which was obtained by The Hill, accuses Issa of using his position as chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee to add to his multimillion-dollar fortune.
An Issa spokesman on Monday said the allegations have absolutely no merit and are part of a smear campaign spearheaded by the White House.
The complaint alleges that Issa pressured the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to halt an investigation of Goldman Sachs shortly after he bought a huge stake in one of Goldman’s high-yield mutual funds.
It also claims Issa used his authority to improperly defend Merrill Lynch, a firm with “which he has a significant financial interest,” the document states.
“In fact and in appearance, Rep. Issa has repeatedly — and impermissibly — used his public position to promote his private financial interests,” Mike Lux, president of American Family Voices, wrote in a letter to former Reps. Porter Goss (R-Fla.) and David Skaggs (D-Colo.), co-chairmen of the OCE.
A spokesman for Issa said the complaint is part of an effort orchestrated by the White House to discredit its critics.
“This complaint is entirely without merit. The White House has used an assortment of outside progressive groups in an effort to attack Oversight and Chairman Issa directly. This is just their latest salvo in an ongoing effort to obstruct oversight,” said Frederick Hill, Issa’s spokesman.
So American Family Voices (AFV; press release here) is using a story which should never have been published to file an ethics complaint which should never have been brought so that the congressman who is hot on the trail of the Gunwallker and other Obama administration can have his credibility and integrity dragged through the mud.
Again, in case it's not clear, the Times's refusal to pull its story seems to be based on the need to provide a basis for AFV's complaint than on dogged defense of the truth.
And who is AFV? No surprise here:
American Family Voices serves as an umbrella group that helps fund a broad network of organizations – including civil rights, environmental, women’s rights, consumer advocacy and health care organizations, and multi-issue think tanks – and build their infrastructure, both in the field and in communications.
We also fill gaps in the progressive movement by conducting research and providing strategic messaging and public relations work that nobody is doing, which helps to drive new media stories.
AFV's somewhat dated Projects page indicates that it is the driving force behind Health Care for America Now (HCAN) and "the Progressive Donor Network." And though I wouldn't want to mistake by confusing people with the same names, AFV's board is from all appearances "progressively" connected.
Powerline's Hinderaker described the situation perfectly in a Tuesday post:
This is how the Left operates: they pay for lies to be published, and then demand investigations on the basis of those lies.
... The word “corruption” is often tossed around in connection with politics, generally wrongly. In my opinion, this story illustrates the real corruption that infects our public life.
Indeed.
Cross-posted at BizzyBlog.com.
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Comments
And then, of course...
Submitted by Too Old To Be Cool on Wed, 09/14/2011 - 2:41am.
...the "accused" has to spend time and money defending against these spurious carges. And they can't countersue for libel/slander/malicious intent/harassment, because it's the government doing the investigating.
but since...
Submitted by dmntd1 on Wed, 09/14/2011 - 8:08am.
The complaint is based on a faulty newspaper article, could he not file libel/slander charges against the newspaper?
We dare not tempt them with weakness. For only when our arms are sufficient beyond doubt can we be certain beyond doubt that they will never be employed.
The tactic has worked before
Submitted by pockets64 on Wed, 09/14/2011 - 9:28am.
Bogus charge after bogus charge got Sarah Palin out of office.
They know even an innocent Republican will resign so as to avoid being a distraction. Whereas a Democrat caught with illicit cash in his freezer is still in office.
And Bush caused o'bama's historical poverty levels
Submitted by ThisnThat on Wed, 09/14/2011 - 8:26am.
Here's another NYT story out today - "Soaring Poverty Casts Spotlight on ‘Lost Decade’ ". Strongly implying that today's historic poverty level was caused only by Bush -- yet another thing "inherited" by o'bama who's striving "every day" to reverse the level.
NYT - "All the lies we find fit to print"
__________
“Didn't win the Medal of Honor? Didn't even serve? Then lie about it. We'll support you." — 9th Circuit Court
Lost Decade?
Submitted by stunned on Wed, 09/14/2011 - 9:48am.
The NYT uses the census data which is done every 10 years but omits the fact that the dramatic rise occured in the last two years. See how easy it is to spin the facts to help out Obama (see Izza story).
Note how the MSM have slammed the wall down on homelessness, poverty and hunger stories over the last year with the rare exception that they blame Bush? If a Republican was in the WH there would be the usual piling on daily of such stories with heart rendering personal tales of folks destitute due to the unemployment crisis in this country. Note how all the foreclosure stories are about how evil banks "conned" and "cheated" folks when the truth is most have lost their homes due to unemployment. Well I know a few stories the MSM ignores.
I know 2 families in my mom's neighborhood and 3 in mine that lost homes after living there for five to ten years due to unemployment and they couldn't even sell the homes and get enough to pay off the morgage. No stories on how honest decent middle class families (no home equity loans or refinancing scams were involved here) just couldn't find work to pay the morgage and lost their home. No stories how kids were tramatized because they had to move with their families to find work or live with relatives. One family left their oldest behind to live with friends so he could finish high school. I know many more families who have taken on 1 or 2 extra jobs to make ends meet because the main job they found paid less or their hours were cut.
One boy whose family is a friend of my neighbor dropped out of college so his folks wouldn't have to worry about tuition and now works 2 full time jobs to help pay the bills since his Dad got laid off. Told them don't worry he'll go back after Dad gets a job and they get back on their feet and a little work never hurt anyone. I cried with my neighbor when she told me what he was doing.
I am furious; I never saw anything like this mess since the Carter years and the MSM ignores it.
tired of liberal lies
See you in court!
Submitted by johnsonl on Wed, 09/14/2011 - 8:37am.
Libelous statements are actionable, aren't they?
The NYT is a joke. Anyone who
Submitted by jessieH on Wed, 09/14/2011 - 8:58am.
The NYT is a joke. Anyone who would want the opinion of this rag mag is a fool.
No slander
Submitted by stunned on Wed, 09/14/2011 - 9:22am.
NYT hit piece on Izza:
•A medical complex purchased by Rep. Issa in 2008 that the Times story alleges enjoyed a 60 percent appreciation as it increased in value from $10.3 million to $16.6 million, "at least in part because of the government-sponsored road work" that Rep. Issa supported.
•That he "went easy" on Toyota during 2010 hearings on unintended acceleration due to "his electronics company's role as a major supplier of alarms to Toyota."
•An alleged 1900 percent profit Rep. Issa's charitable foundation made on an investment of "less that $19,000" that was sold seven months later for $357,000 "months before the stock market crashed.
The real story:
•The medical complex the Times story alleges enjoyed a 60 percent appreciation since it was purchased for $10.3 million and is now valued at $16.6 million is a patently false claim. According to the buyer's final settlement statement, the property in question was not purchased for $10.3 million as the New York Times reported but for $16.6 million – the exact same figure of its current tax assessment. According to these numbers, the appreciation is not 60 percent but roughly zero. In addition, the government sponsored road work noted in the article has not even begun and Rep. Issa's requests for the project (which were publicly announced and made on behalf of and at the request of the City of Vista, and the San Diego Association of Governments which is the regional transportation planning authority) all came before the 2008 property purchase.
•The allegation that Rep. Issa "went easy" on Toyota during 2010 hearings because of "his electronics company's role as a major supplier of alarms to Toyota" is again an example of a factual error in the Times story that lends no support to the story's central premise. While the Times story tells readers that Rep. Issa's former company, Directed Electronics, is a "major supplier of alarms to Toyota," the story offers no evidence, and Directed Electronics is, in fact, not a supplier to Toyota. The New York Times also fails to note that Rep. Issa does not have a personal financial interest in Directed Electronics.
•The "1,900 percent" profit allegation is, again, based on reporting errors by the New York Times. This is assertion is based on an incorrect form obtained by the Times. According to a financial transaction record, the Issa Family Foundation's initial investment in the AIM Small Company fund was not $19,000 but $500,000. The asset was later sold for $375,000 resulting in a $125,000 loss – not a 1900 percent gain as was reported.
The hit piece was wrong from the start:
The story begins, "Here on the third floor of a gleaming office building overlooking a golf course in the rugged foothills north of San Diego, Darrell Issa, the entrepreneur, oversees the hub of a growing financial empire worth hundreds of millions of dollars." As this video shows, however, the office building located at 1800 Thibodo Rd. in Vista does not overlook a golf course
The NYT corrections to date (coming one after another)
The Times’ corrections read: “An earlier version of this article incorrectly described value of businesses that resulted from splitting a holding company owned by Representative Darrell Issa. They are multimillion-dollar businesses, not multibillion-dollar businesses.”
"A county assessor provided faulty information."
"Lichtblau simply used Issa’s own family foundation disclosures."
The hit piece's conclusion:
"As his private wealth and public power have grown, so too has the overlap between his private and business lives, with at least some of the congressman's government actions helping to make a rich man even richer and raising the potential for conflicts."
The only examples the New York Times raises of Rep. Issa's public actions benefiting his private holdings are the erroneous examples previously noted.
And let's not forget the title of the article:
•The title, "Helping His District and Himself" implies that Rep. Issa has engaged in self-dealing.
Izza would have a hard time proving slander since the basic facts are correct it was just that the author and NYT slanted them to imply corruption in the tone of the article. The fact that his connections have been fully disclosed in his Anuual Congressional Ethics disclosure statement is omitted. Note how the NYT "corrections" did not restate the facts correctly but just blamed the sources. This is all it takes these days to ruin a man's reputation and have a liberal group "allege" ethics violations since he is an Obama critic.
tired of liberal lies