Conservative Leaders Demand Accountability After Salt Lake Tribune Smears Data Republican

Conservative leaders rallied Thursday against a smear campaign brought on last weekend by The Salt Lake Tribune against data guru, X influencer, and Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) ally DataRepublican, having eagerly made public the identity and occupation of her husband — a private citizen.

The Tribune’s smear came on the heels of a larger targeting concocted by Rolling Stone aimed at revealing her real name — Jennica Pounds — along with her background and home as a proud Utahan and former tech worker. 

In the letter, over two dozen conservative leaders blasted The Tribune’s work as a “gratuitous and outrageous attack” on Pounds and her husband, “portray[ing] her as the real mastermind behind DOGE’s cuts.”

The signatories went onto demand the paper and all other smear merchants “ease their act of personal destruction” and return to “journalistic standards or be investigated for various IRS and consumer protection violations.” 

You can read the full letter below:

The difference between journalism and politics used to be one was about informing the public and the other was about persuading the public. Legacy media abandoned this distinction long ago. The latest example was the Salt Lake Tribune’s gratuitous and outrageous attack against one of the finest residents of that city: Jennica Pounds.

Pounds became the focal point for The Tribune’s ire because of her crucial work for the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

Being an average American lacking the clout and means of Elon Musk, Pounds found herself on the receiving end of a targeted campaign which resulted in the doxxing of her husband and his small local distillery.

Since The Tribune portrayed her as the real mastermind behind DOGE’s cuts, the paper might as well have put up a big flashing sign outside the distillery that read: “Send your hate here.”

The Tribune’s so-called “reporting” was disgusting, violative of basic journalistic integrity and designed to punish those who do not cling to the leftist narrative that paper spews on a daily basis to its readers. It came at a time when President Trump, Justice Brett Kavanaugh, and other Republican candidates have had attempts on their lives. But unlike most, they have protective details.

Leftists have adopted a “whole of society approach” to their radical agenda. The sharp end of their weapon is the legacy media that wield their power with ferocity, targeting enemies like a guided missile.

We, the undersigned, condemn The Salt Lake Tribune. We call on it and other print outlets to cease their act of personal destruction. They can either voluntarily come back into compliance with journalistic standards or be investigated for various IRS and consumer protection violations.

Ed Molchany
Publisher
NewsBusters

The Honorable George K Rasley Jr
Managing Editor
ConservativeHQ.com

Mark J. Fitzgibbons
President of Corporate Affairs

Robert Romano
Executive Director
American Target Advertising, Inc. 
American for Limitied Governmen

Christie-Lee McNally
President
Raven Strategies

Rick Manning
President
Americans for Limited Government

Gavin Wax
President
New York Young Republicans Club

Curtis Houck
Managing Editor
Newsbusters

John Pierce
Chairman
National Constitutional Law Union

James L. Martin
Founder/Chairman
60 Plus Association

Saulius “Saul” Anuzis
President
American Association of Senior Citizens

Lieutenant Colonel Allen B. West (US Army, Retired)
Executive Director, American Constitutional Rights Union
Chairman, Dallas County Republican Party
Member, 112th US Congress

Kevin D. Freeman
Founder
NSIC Institute

James Taylor
President and CEO 
The Heartland Institute 
 
Thomas Lifson
Founder and Editor Emeritus
American Thinker

Kristen A. Ullman 
President
Eagle Forum

David Kupelian
Editor in Chief
WND News Center

Deborah Weiss
Attorney

Floyd Brown
Author
Western Journalism

Rod D. Martin, J.D.
Founder and CEO
Martin Capital, Inc.

Marci Troutman
Sr. Director Digital Technology
American Target Advertising, Inc.

Terry Schilling
President
American Principles Project

Eunie Smith 
President
Eagle Forum of Alabama

Jim Lakely
Vice President
& Director of Communications
The Heartland Institute

Gary Bauer
President
American Values

Dan Schnieder
Vice President
Media Research Center