Even if it’s not considered a “top five” story by the mainstream media, the corruption trial of New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez is underway, and Kellyanne Conway took some heat Tuesday on social media for retweeting a piece from The Daily Caller and claiming that the New York Times made no mention of Menendez’s party affiliation in its piece on the trial published Monday.
In 1300-word story, NYT Fails To Mention Federal Criminal Defendant Bob Menendez Is A Democrat. https://t.co/SkpUr5lEh1
— Kellyanne Conway (@KellyannePolls) September 5, 2017
It. Is. Mentioned. In. The FOURTH. Paragraph. GO LIE ABOUT SOMETHING ELSE. https://t.co/HgueZA1Ytu
— Carter Gaddis (@DadScribe) September 5, 2017
I'm having a hard time believing you read a 1300-word story.
— Brook Lundy (@brooklundy1) September 5, 2017
She didn't. If she had read it, she would have seen where it says "Mr. Menendez, a Democrat" in the fourth paragraph.
— BLOODY Mary Emily O'Hara (@MaryEmilyOHara) September 5, 2017
You're wrong pic.twitter.com/AVFCBRxBcH
— Justin Cauchon (@Cauchon) September 5, 2017
Stated in the 4th paragraph. I guess that was way too much reading for you to do.
— David Loos (@BostonBrand71) September 5, 2017
You sure you read the same story? Or are you just lying to your supporters again because it's in there?
— RedNeck_Dem (@Redneck_Dem) September 5, 2017
Free Beacon reporter Alex Griswold captured some screenshots of the backlash against Conway for making such a claim. Reporters from POLITICO and CNN, along with Joan Walsh, had no problem finding the word “Democrat” right up front.
Sure are a lot of reporters attacking conservatives for a completely factual observation, without doing research first. pic.twitter.com/TM3LmNqZ8q
— Alex Griswold (@HashtagGriswold) September 5, 2017
4th paragraph: "Mr. Menendez, a Democrat" https://t.co/4E4nrucucW
— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) September 5, 2017
Line from the story: "Since his indictment more than two years ago, Mr. Menendez, a Democrat…" https://t.co/pl9WsIWNv3
— Dan Merica (@merica) September 5, 2017
Lot of people piling on Conway but this is true. Online version yesterday did omit Menendez's partisan affiliation. It was added later. https://t.co/Yhl3o04P3o
— Byron Tau (@ByronTau) September 5, 2017
The thing is, the claim was made by The Daily Caller’s Peter Hasson, who noted the omission Monday night in the story that Conway retweeted. And the author of the New York Times piece even admitted that he’d added in Menendez’s party affiliation in an update late Monday. The CEO of the Texas Tribune made note of the omission in a tweet.
Rs in my feed complaining @NYTnickc piece abt Bob Menendez doesn't mention he's a Democrat. I'll admit: It's … odd https://t.co/iWqoP2HQfi
— Evan Smith (@evanasmith) September 5, 2017
Thanks Evan. Not odd, just an oversight on my part after drafts. Adding back now.
— Nick Corasaniti (@NYTnickc) September 5, 2017
And there you have the writer of the piece himself tweeting Monday night that he was going to “add back” the fact that Menendez is a Democrat.
And if that’s not enough proof, a scan of the piece at change-tracking site NewsDiffs shows that, yes, “Democrat” was a late addition to the story, which earlier had referred to Menendez simply as “a senior senator”:
So both The Daily Caller and Kellyanne Conway had it right all along, and the writer of the piece admitted it … but Conway was still trashed by pro journalists who balk at the label “fake news.”
So … who’s on trial here? Conway? Or Democrat Sen. Bob Menendez?
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Related:
WaPo reporter explains why Sen. Menendez’s corruption trial isn’t ‘top 5 story’ (brace for ALTERNATE theories!) https://t.co/rie62rfzkf
— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) August 31, 2017
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