“MEDIA MATTERS Watch” : Media Matters’ Falsehoods Exposed!

An April 14, 2006 item by Media Matters falsely suggests that Valerie Plame did not get her husband, Joe Wilson, the job of a pre-war, fact-finding trip to Africa. In spreading this falsehood, Media Matters baselessly smears GOPer Newt Gingrich.

In fact, as noted by the exact same source that Media Matters cites, Valerie Plame wrote a memo to a CIA deputy that commended her husband’s "good relations with both the Prime Minister and the former Minister of Mines (of Niger), not to mention lots of French contacts." (View the words yourself in this Senate report). Of course Plame got her husband the job. We have verifiable documentary proof!

Here’s how Media Matters deceives their readers on this one: They cite a sentence from an old October 2005 Washington Post article. It says, "The CIA has always said, however, that Plame’s superiors chose Wilson for the Niger trip and she only relayed their decision." What Media Matters intentionally omitted was the paragraph directly above this sentence! Look at this (bold mine):

the Senate committee found that "interviews and documents provided to the committee indicate that his wife . . . suggested his name for the trip." The committee also noted a memorandum from Plame saying Wilson "has good relations" with Niger officials who "could possibly shed light on this sort of activity." In addition, notes on a State Department document surmised that Plame "had the idea to dispatch him" to Niger.

Doh! Joe Wilson and Media Matters are totally debunked!! Gingrich was telling the truth! WaPo’s quote from the CIA is insignificant. Of course the CIA is going to defend its own!

[If you want to read more on this, Joe Wilson (and Media Matters, for that matter) is further obliterated here by Christopher Hitchens.]