Erroneous Information + False Claim = Another Bogus Media Matters Post
An August 2, 2006, post from Media Matters contains a false claim and erroneous information.
1. Erroneous information: Media Matters claims that the allegation that Hillary Clinton made an anti-Semitic slur in 1974 has been "discredited." This is simply false. As this 2000 CNN article clearly reveals, three principle witnesses, including the object of the attack, report that Hillary uttered the hateful remark. The article reports that Hillary spewed the slur at campaign adviser Paul Fray after an election loss.
From the CNN article (emphasis mine):
Paul Fray told CNN that Rodham had indeed uttered the slur. "You’ve got to understand, it was the heat of the moment. We knew we had lost. It was a case of people lashing out at one another, and it just got to that point," he said.
Asked his immediate reaction, he said, "I was a little defensive about it. I looked to the floor, thinking, ‘How do I respond?’ I didn’t mind being called an SOB to my face, but when it comes to attacking my culture, that’s a whole ‘nother ballgame."
So, who does Media Matters use as a source to claim the allegation has been "discredited"? Hillary’s biographer Gail Sheehy! Ha! That’s a reliable source?! LOL!
The only one who has been "discredited" is Media Matters.
2. False claim: Media Matters falsely claims that radio host Dennis Prager, in the August 1, 2006, appearance on MSNBC’s Hardball, "seek[ed] to deflect criticism" of Mel Gibson. However, a cursory look at the transcript of the broadcast shows that this is flat-out untrue. Along with Mr. Prager, a guest on the segment was attorney Raoul Felder. Mike Barnicle was the guest host. Look at this:
MIKE BARNICLE: Dennis, you know, I mean, there is a school — there is a school of thought here that the tequila, or whatever you — he [Gibson] was drinking in this case could well be a truth serum. I mean, that this is who Mel Gibson really is.
DENNIS PRAGER: I believe that. I believe it, too. I believe that. I believe that. I believe that in wine there is truth. I’m not denying it at all …
…
RAOUL FELDER: And I — and I naively thought private remarks reveal more about the people —
BARNICLE: Yeah.
FELDER: — than what they say in a scripted public appearance. And this is what happened here. This is what — this man’s heart has hatred towards the Jewish race.
PRAGER: That’s right. That’s right, except — that’s right –
Does that sound like a man "deflecting criticism" of Gibson? Not at all. MMatters is wrong again.
And there you have it! Another bogus post from Media Matters!
