In the latest instance in an ongoing series, ABC News has once again treated the cooked crime data coming out of Washington, D.C. as though they were the Gospel truth. And in a new yet familiar twist, now accuse President Donald Trump of “baselessly” referring to the data as “phony”.
Watch ABC News National Correspondent Mola Lenghi do his thing in a report prepared for today’s edition of This Week:
ABC’s @MolaReports Lenghi, on @ThisWeekABC, continued the DC press corps obsession with arguing crime not a problem in DC: “The President declaring an emergency, saying crime in D.C. is spiraling out of control even though the District’s official figures showing violent crime… pic.twitter.com/vw5YzTLyH4
— Brent Baker 🇺🇲🇺🇦 🇮🇱 (@BrentHBaker) August 17, 2025
MOLA LENGHI: This morning, National Guard troops on the streets of the nation's capital, and D.C. police working with a new directive from the president.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Now they are allowed to do whatever the hell they want.
LENGHI: On Monday, President Trump announcing a federal takeover of the D.C. Police Department, claiming officers have had their hands tied, unable to fight back against crime and lawlessness.
TRUMP: They fight back until you knock the hell out of them because it's the only language they understand.
LENGHI: The president declaring an emergency, saying crime in D.C. is spiraling out of control, even though the district's official figures showing violent crime recently hitting a 30-year low, down 26 percent since last year, numbers the president has baselessly called phony.
MERYL CHERTOFF: In general, emergencies are declared with respect to national disasters, terrorist events, wartime activity. We have none of those situations here.
The full segment led to an interview with noted enjoyer of margaritas with violent illegal alien gangbangers Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), who would further complain about the Trump takeover of the Metropolitan Police Department.
The record reflects that a Metro police commander was suspended due to manipulation of crime statistics. Per NBC4:
A D.C. police commander is under investigation for allegedly making changes to crime statistics in his district.
The Metropolitan Police Department confirmed Michael Pulliam was placed on paid administrative leave in mid-May. That happened just a week after Pulliam filed an equal employment opportunity complaint against an assistant chief and the police union accused the department of deliberately falsifying crime data, according to three law enforcement sources familiar with the complaint.
The union claims police supervisors in the department manipulate crime data to make it appear violent crime has fallen considerably compared to last year.
The legacy media are particularly fond of citing the cooked crime data as factual. A recent study by our very own Bill Agostino found that CNN and MSNBC cited the cooked data 73 times over a 24-hour period, and the network newscasts have largely followed the same pattern.
This is but another example of a Trump-deranged media that cannot help itself when reporting on stories that may be favorable to the president. The insistence on dismissing Trump’s correct reference to the crime data as “baseless” in the face of clear and convincing evidence to the contrary is, by definition, fake news, and yet another exhibit in the ongoing argument against trust in the media.
Click “expand” to view the full transcript of the aforementioned report as aired on ABC’s This Week with George Stephanopoulos on Sunday, August 17th, 2025:
MARTHA RADDATZ: President Trump is locked in a legal battle with city officials in Washington, D.C., after announcing a federal takeover of the D.C. police and sending National Guard troops into the nation's capital that he claims is spiraling out of control. ABC's Mola Lenghi has the latest.
MOLA LENGHI: This morning, National Guard troops on the streets of the nation's capital, and D.C. police working with a new directive from the president.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Now they are allowed to do whatever the hell they want.
LENGHI: On Monday, President Trump announcing a federal takeover of the D.C. Police Department, claiming officers have had their hands tied, unable to fight back against crime and lawlessness.
TRUMP: They fight back until you knock the hell out of them because it's the only language they understand.
LENGHI: The president declaring an emergency, saying crime in D.C. is spiraling out of control, even though the district's official figures showing violent crime recently hitting a 30-year low, down 26 percent since last year, numbers the president has baselessly called phony.
MERYL CHERTOFF: In general, emergencies are declared with respect to national disasters, terrorist events, wartime activity. We have none of those situations here.
LENGHI: And despite that, President Trump deploying 800 National Guard troops to some of the city's most prominent locations, including the National Mall and Union Station for what Army officials characterize as a role of support.
PETE HEGSETH: If you take an action or a shot at them, there will be a consequence. We're not going to have National Guard sitting there like this, seeing a crime committed, not do something about it.
LENGHI: Initially unarmed, “The Wall Street Journal” now reporting those citizen soldiers are preparing to carry weapons in D.C. in the coming days.
Asked about the report, a White House official telling ABC News, “they may be armed, consistent with their mission and training.”
The White House saying since the operation began, dozens of arrests have been made. The majority, undocumented immigrants.
Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser calling it an authoritarian push before dialing that back.
MURIEL BOWSER: What we want to do is make sure that this federal surge is useful to us.
LENGHI: Many residents we spoke to saying while crime has at times been a concern, a military presence feels unnecessary.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I understand wanting to get some help, to help with the crime, but I think the National Guard just adds an extra layer to people's anxiety and angst.
LENGHI: And despite the president's claims, legal experts say it's clear that law enforcement does not have the right to assault anyone.
MONICA HOPKINS: You know, we still have a Constitution, and you know, police don't have a right to do just anything under the Constitution. You have certain rights when encountering police.
LENGHI: President Trump's efforts now spilling into a legal battle with city officials.
BRIAN SCHWALB: The hostile takeover of our police force is not going to happen.
LENGHI: As Attorney General Pam Bondi issued an order that would sideline D.C.'s police chief, replacing her with the head of the Drug Enforcement Agency.
PAM BONDI: That’s why at my directive, we have made Terry Cole now the commissioner over the police.
LENGHI: But just hours later, a district judge raising concerns about the plan, telling White House attorneys that the Department of Justice clearly cannot direct the MPD to do anything. Attorneys for the city and the DOJ then reaching an agreement to restore control of the police department to Police Chief Pamela Smith.
SCHWALB: I'm very gratified that the judge today recognized that that is flagrantly illegal.
LENGHI: Well, on Saturday, governors from several states, including South Carolina, West Virginia, and Ohio, agreeing to send National Guard troops from their states, bringing the total number of soldiers deployed here to the nation's capital to more than 1,500. Now, the president has indicated that he wants to keep those troops as well as his authority over D.C. police for more than the 30 days currently allotted to him, setting up the potential for a drawn-out legal battle, Martha.
RADDATZ: And our thanks to Mola.
