Last month, media commentator Richard Grenell broke the story about ABC and CBS News directors having siblings in the White House.
On Saturday's Fox News Watch, Grenell revealed that NBC News senior political editor Mark Murray is married to an Obama official (video follows with transcript and commentary):
JON SCOTT, HOST: Rick, you suggested that folks on the West Coast are laughing at us East Coasters. The question is, you know, are there too many balls in the air here for journalists to cover them all? Stewart Stevens in the Daily Beast noted this: “…There is an entire class of journalists so invested in a certain moral and ethical image of the president that its members are unable to entertain facts that might tarnish that image.”
RICHARD GRENELL: You know, I think Jim is right. It's growing in some circles and it’s not growing in others. Over at NBC, you have Mark Murray, who is the senior political editor over there. He went on MSNBC to say, you know, this story is not going to last the summer.
You know, the irony about this is is that Mark Murray, NBC senior political editor, he's married to an Obama appointee. This Obama appointee is now the chief of staff at the FAA. So when you have someone at NBC kind of dismissing the story and trying to really push it off the front pages, you now know why because he's getting pressure at home.
Not surprisingly, Grenell was right again. Here is the bio identifying Murray as NBC News senior political editor.
In 2007, Murray had a blog called Mark and Sasha wherein his pending nuptials to Sasha Johnson were announced.
Notice that his email was @nbcuni.com and hers was @turner.com. That's because - as her Department of Transportation bio reflects - she used to work for CNN:
Sasha Johnson was appointed as Assistant to U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and DOT Director of Public Affairs in November 2011. Prior to this position, Sasha was the Assistant Administrator for Communications at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for two years where she oversaw both external and corporate communications for the 48,000 person agency. Sasha initially joined DOT in May 2009 when she was appointed as Secretary LaHood’s press secretary.
Before coming to DOT, Sasha worked at the Cable News Network (CNN) as a senior producer where she covered presidential and Washington politics. During her eleven years with the network, Sasha covered the 2000, 2004, and 2008 presidential campaigns as well as news events like the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. While at CNN Sasha also served as a senior producer on the program Inside Politics with Judy Woodruff.
So in May 2009, a CNN senior producer, married to an NBC News senior political editor, was appointed as Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood's press secretary.
The Hill reported a few weeks ago that she's now the chief of staff at the FAA:
DOT Public Affairs Director Sasha Johnson is scheduled to assume the chief of staff position at the FAA at the end of the month. Her last day at the DOT is scheduled to be on Friday.
The media connections to this White House are breathtaking.
