As we told you earlier, NBC News released a statement its freelancer busted following the jury van after deliberation on Wednesday at the Kyle Rittenhouse in Kenosha, saying that “the freelancer never contacted or intended to contact the jurors during deliberations, and never photographed or intended to photograph them” and “We regret the incident and will fully cooperate with the authorities on any investigation”
"We regret the incident and will fully cooperate with the authorities on any investigation," NBC adds (2/2) https://t.co/7LNnDbQErb
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) November 18, 2021
So why was the freelancer following the van, then?
Just following them for fun? https://t.co/Z1bIeYRzgA
— Scott Jennings (@ScottJenningsKY) November 18, 2021
We still have questions:
Uhhhh so what exactly would the point of following the jury van be if you didn't intend to make any sort of contact with the jurors? https://t.co/Oj038G4A9V
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) November 18, 2021
And take note of the important qualifier in there: “during deliberations.” That means they did likely intend to contact the jurors *after* deliberations:
*During deliberations*
Full intent on seeing the jurors and contacting them after deliberations. Given the media's generally grotesque coverage of this trial, at what point does such behavior amount to intimidation? https://t.co/WcmEhppaPE
— Erielle Davidson (@politicalelle) November 18, 2021
“This is not a denial, it’s a confirmation,” tweets Breitbart’s Joe Pollak:
Recommended
This is not a denial; it’s a confirmation https://t.co/drqRa4NSK4
— Joel Pollak (@joelpollak) November 18, 2021
Judicial Watch’s Tom Fitton called the statement, “obviously misleading and dishonest”:
Obviously misleading and dishonest statement by @NBCNews. https://t.co/7FcXqwn2wN
— Tom Fitton (@TomFitton) November 18, 2021
They’re really going to double down on this, aren’t they?
The language in this statement from NBC News is consistent with Court TV reporter Ted Rowland's claim that news networks following a jury bus is common practice in big trials, with the goal of obtaining jurors' contact info so networks can quickly reach out to them after verdict. https://t.co/lfc758odo6
— Steve Lookner (@lookner) November 18, 2021
And here comes the cavalry to defend MSNBC’s honor:
CNN legal analyst Elliot Williams: "It was pretty hasty to ban an entire news organization and not just this one individual, but it just shows what a serious issue it is."
— Jeremy Barr (@jeremymbarr) November 18, 2021
Sickening.
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Related:
WHOA: Kenosha police investigating if a member of the media followed a Rittenhouse juror home https://t.co/27aaCKGriH
— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) November 18, 2021
‘Happens all the time’! Purported Court TV correspondent says it’s totally normal for reporters to follow jury buses to get their license plate numbers https://t.co/3OhUUKuRe8
— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) November 18, 2021
Aaron Rupar slams ‘right-wing troll’ Judge Schroeder for barring MSNBC from courtroom (and of course for having ‘the Trump theme song’ ringtone) https://t.co/Y7rNkknGWI
— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) November 18, 2021