With Brian Williams’ reputation now tarnished by his Iraq war tall-tales it’s going to be awfully awkward for NBC News to allow him to cover any stories involving public figures caught in lies. At the very least his days of “precinct captain for” NBC’s “Truth Squad” are probably over.
Williams served in that capacity during NBC News’s live coverage of the 2004 presidential and vice presidential debates. In its coverage of the October 5, 2004 vice presidential debate between Dick Cheney and John Edwards, the then anchor-in-waiting was introduced by Tom Brokaw this way: “We’ve been keeping track of the facts or the non-facts during the course of the debate as well. And the precinct captain for our Truth Squad in Cleveland, here’s NBC's Brian Williams for us now.”
Williams, who was just weeks away from taking over Brokaw’s anchor chair, went on to fact check various statements by the two vice presidential candidates. He also played that role in the presidential debates between George W. Bush and John Kerry.
Over the years the Nightly News anchor has covered many stories that involved the lies of politicians (Bill Clinton, Richard Blumenthal), sports stars (Mark McGwire) and fellow journalists (Jayson Blair). The following is a compilation of Williams’ now cringe-inducing soundbites from those various pieces.
“And now for the role that lying has taken on in the ‘90s. Studies say virtually everybody does it at some time. NBC's Fred Francis continues our special In Depth look tonight with a look at how lying is and has always been part of life, public and private.”
-Williams introducing a piece about Bill Clinton and other famous 90s liars on the August 24, 1998 NBC Nightly News.
“NBC News In Depth tonight, the New York Times, with its famous slogan, ‘All the news that’s fit to print,’ is working on a story it would rather not be doing tonight. It’s about one of its own, a most promising young reporter who appears to have copied or even made up key parts of his stories. How could it happen? In Depth tonight, here is NBC’s Pete Williams.”
-Williams introducing a piece about disgraced New York Times reporter Jayson Blair on the May 9, 2003 NBC Nightly News. Blair was forced to resign after it was discovered he fabricated and plagiarized stories.
“On the broadcast tonight, the confession. After not telling the truth for years, now we know it's true. Mark McGwire, the homerun king, did it on steroids. Because this is a family broadcast we probably can’t say what we would like to about the news today that Mark McGwire, the home run hitter, the fan favorite from the St. Louis Cardinals, stopped lying today and admitted that he did it while on steroids.”
-Williams introducing a January 11, 2010 NBC Nightly News story on McGwire.
“And a big US Senate race in Connecticut got blown sky high today when the leading Democrat in the race got caught in a lie over his military service. Richard Blumenthal, who is the state attorney general, has said in the past he served in Vietnam.”
-Williams introducing a May 18, 2010 NBC Nightly News story on Connecticut attorney general and Democratic Senate candidate Richard Blumenthal lying about his having served in Vietnam.
