Republican House Speaker John Boehner strongly objected to a slanted story on the Fast and Furious scandal by Times legal reporter Charlie Savage posted at the New York Times on Tuesday (it evidently did not make it into print).
The Daily Caller reported: "A spokesman for Speaker of the House John Boehner told The Daily Caller on Tuesday night that the New York Times published a false story alleging the speaker is trying to cut a deal with Attorney General Eric Holder over congressional subpoenas related to the Operation Fast and Furious scandal."
The Times reported late on Tuesday that Boehner had “opened direct negotiations with the Department of Justice aimed at resolving a dispute over subpoenaed information related to the botched gun-trafficking investigation dubbed Operation Fast and Furious.” The story ran under the headline “Boehner in talks with Justice Dept. on gun-running inquiry.”
Boehner spokesman Michael Steel, however, said the report is not true. He alleged that it illustrated a Holder-friendly bias among some establishment media outlets.
Boehner's office blogged the matter Tuesday:
This story shows how the mainstream media is ignoring this scandal and covering up for the Department of Justice. Staff for the Speaker, other leadership offices, and Chairman Issa have been encouraging Attorney General Holder's staff to comply for weeks or months to no avail, but there have certainly been no direct talks between the Speaker and Attorney General, and the department is still stonewalling."
Savage has previously downplayed the Fast and Furious 'gun-walking' scandal, when the Justice Department signed off on a plan that allowed guns to flow untracked into the U.S. and Mexico, putting thousands of illegally purchased firearms on the street, one of which led to the death of Border Patrol agent Brian Terry.
An October 2011 Savage story on Fast and Furious showed him in spin mode for the administration, emphasizing Attorney General Holder's wish 'to move past the political furor' and completely omitting a Holder admission of "inaccuracy" emphasized by the Washington Post. A December 2011 interview of Holder by Savage also downplayed the scandal, even allowing the attorney general to play the race card against his conservative critics.
(H/T Seton Motley)
