Following the recent threats from Nancy Pelosi and the heavy brush with which the media are painting Newt Gingrich as unethical, the Media Research Center is now calling on the networks to seize the moment and report the truth from nearly 13 years ago.
It has been 4,689 days since the IRS formally cleared Newt Gingrich of any violation of tax law. It’s been 4,689 days since ABC, CBS, and NBC have had the opportunity to report it. What the heck. Why not today? Now is the time for these networks to report the truth for once. The networks owe it to the American people to report the fact that in 1999 the IRS completely vindicated Gingrich.
Between December 15, 1996 and January 31, 1997 the network morning and evening newscasts filed a staggering 244 stories. Total number of network stories on the news that Newt was completely innocent? Zero. That’s beyond pathetic.
Oh and what about CNN? We found that the cable network filed one -- count 'em, one -- story. They're probably exhausted by all that effort, so we'll let them off the hook.
See Bozell's column " Newt Is Vindicated, But Nobody Knows It" in February of 1999, detailing how the IRS cleared Gingrich of any violation of the tax laws but was spiked from being covered by ABC, CBS and NBC News.