If you wanted to be kind, you could say that Carol Leonnig has a vivid imagination. But being frank about it, you have to say that Leonnig, a Washington Post "investigative reporter" was simply distorting the facts.
Appearing this morning on MSNBC's Velshi show, Leonnig said she felt compelled to call out Trump's "misinformation" in Trump's Truth Social post calling on supporters, in the context of his possibly imminent arrest, to "Protest. Take back our nation."
LEONNIG: It's not a violent crime he's charged with. And that means that he would be given negotiated terms under which to voluntarily turn himself in. Nobody is coming for him with cuffs. You know, he has the opportunity to come in a back elevator, backstairs, no perp walk, if he chooses.
And instead, Donald Trump is really choosing to use this rhetoric to suggest that jack-booted thugs are coming for him on Tuesday, and people will have to stop this from happening.
Leonnig taking the words "protest. Take our nation back," and reading into it, "stop jack-booted thugs from coming for me," bends any kind of honest journalism beyond the breaking point. Trump is trying to gin up outrage at an elected Manhattan Democrat district attorney arresting a former president of the United States for political reasons. Leonnig has written two very anti-Trump books with fellow Post reporter Philip Rucker.
By coincidence, Ayman Mohyeldin, who guest-hosted the show, happens to know a thing or two about making false accusations regarding jack-booted thugs.
In 2015, we caught Mohyeldin accusing Chris Kyle, the inspiration for the movie American Sniper, of going on "killing sprees" while carrying out his duties as a Navy Seal in Iraq.
Carol Leonnig's cockeyed "correction" of Trump was supported in part by Verizon, Chase, Constant Contact, Wayfair, and Subway.
Here's the transcript.
MSNBC
Velshi
3/19/23
10:06 am EDTCAROL LEONNIG: And let's be clear about something else. Ayman, if you don't mind, I just what to clear up some misinformation that Trump is sending out.
If he is charged and indicted under a felony statute in New York City, it's not a, it's not a violent crime he's charged with. It's a fraud. It's a conspiracy.
And that means that he would be given negotiated terms under which to voluntarily turn himself in. Nobody is coming for him with cuffs. You know, he has the opportunity to come in a back elevator, backstairs, no perp walk, if he chooses.
And instead, Donald Trump is really choosing to use this rhetoric to suggest that, you know, jack-booted thugs are coming for him on Tuesday, and people will have to, you know, stop this from happening.
AYMAN MOHYELDIN: [Facetiously] Are you suggesting that Donald Trump would use something like this for political theater, Carol? How could you [chuckles]?
LEONNIG: Well it's a tried and true [inaudible] for him that you and we've watched --
MOHYELDIN: I hear you.
LEONNIG: -- over five years. All your questions are great on this. Thank you.
