ABC's World News Tonight stood out as the only Big Three evening newscast on Thursday to cover the revelation that a Russian police officer physically attacked an American diplomat as he entered the U.S. embassy in Moscow. Martha Raddatz spotlighted the "really astonishing" incident, where "the diplomat was assaulted the second he went up the steps; and then, had to fight and struggle to get himself inside to safety." She also pointed out the context of the recent "ear-shattering close encounters between Russian jets and U.S. warships." [video below]
Anchor David Muir introduced the 50-second segment by trumpeting "from Russia this evening, disturbing images from outside the American embassy there — what appears to be a violent confrontation between an American official and a Russian security guard." Raddatz led with her "really astonishing" label of the assault, and summarized what took place between the two. After noting how the Russian military aircraft buzzed the U.S. naval vessel, she concluded that "it seems to get more serious all the time."
Back on the June 27, 2016 edition of World News Tonight, the ABC correspondent reported on a series of previous incidents involving American diplomats in Russia. Raddatz detailed how "the amount of Russian harassment and surveillance of our diplomats is now like the bad old days of the Soviet Union. U.S. diplomats complaining of walking into their apartments and realizing all the furniture has been moved around — a provocation by Russian agents — saying, 'We're watching you.'" She also noted how the Russian government is "also accused of hacking personal e-mails; there have been incidents of tires being slashed — even diplomats' family members being followed."
Reuters gave additional details of the Russian police officer's assault in a Thursday report:
Russian television on Thursday broadcast video footage of what it said was a Russian police officer and a U.S. diplomat wrestling on the steps of the U.S. embassy in Moscow.
Reports of the incident emerged late last month....The night time footage, from what appeared to be a closed circuit TV camera across the street from a side entrance into the embassy compound, showed a yellow taxi pulling up and a man jumping out of the front passenger door....
A man in police uniform then darted out, grabbed the man, and wrestled him to the floor about two metres (yards) from the door leading into the embassy building...The footage then showed the police officer lying on top of the other man, who was on his back, pinning him to the floor. The man managed to wriggle his way toward the door and get it open, at which point the footage ended.
The full transcript of Martha Raddatz's short report from ABC's World News Tonight on July 7, 2016:
DAVID MUIR: And from Russia this evening, disturbing images from outside the American embassy there — what appears to be a violent confrontation between an American official and a Russian security guard.
So let's get right to ABC's Martha Raddatz, tracking this tonight. Martha?
[ABC News Graphic: "U.S. Diplomat Attacked?; Caught On Camera: Russian TV Shows U.D. Diplomat Attacked"]
MARTHA RADDATZ: Good evening, David. This incident is really astonishing. The Russians, who do outside security at the embassy, say the guard tackled the American because he didn't show his pass, and could have been a terrorist or a spy. But the diplomat was assaulted the second he went up the steps; and then, had to fight and struggle to get himself inside to safety. This follows those ear-shattering close encounters between Russian jets and U.S. warships. The U.S. has taken this to the highest levels to complain. But David, it seems to get more serious all the time.
MUIR: More to come on that. Martha Raddatz tracking it for us — thank you, Martha.
