'They’ve totally botched this': Guy Benson calls out Salon for 'incoherent, conspiratorial hit job' on his recent piece about Tara Reade [screenshots]

Over the weekend, Guy Benson looked into a check fraud charge against Tara Reade that could potentially impugn her credibility:

According to California court records, Tara Reade — the woman who has accused former Vice President Joe Biden of sexually assaulting her 27 years ago — was charged with misdemeanor check fraud just days before she left the then-Senator’s office in the summer of 1993. The charge in question was filed on August 2, 1993, according to emails from an official working at the San Luis Obispo County court, obtained by Townhall (see updates). A document posted publicly by Ms. Reade indicates that she departed Biden’s office four days later:

I am a former Joe Biden stafferIn 93 I tried to file a complaint against him for his sexual harassment & worse of me I was fired he destroyed my careerLast April I spoke up his campaign called me a Russian agent I am not. I lost work and was threatened.
My full account silenced. pic.twitter.com/7aItzSRB9D

— taratweets ( Alexandra Tara Reade) (@ReadeAlexandra) March 16, 2020

There is no evidence that her departure from Biden’s office was connected to the criminal charge, but the timing may raise questions about both the timeline of events, and Reade’s credibility. This document provided to Townhall shows Reade’s charge was eventually purged from the public record, pursuant to California law.

Read Benson’s full piece here.

Earlier this week, Salon decided to cover Benson’s reporting. Which is fine on its face. The issue was how they covered it.

There’s a very strange Salon piece out today, kinda sorta (?) attacking my reporting about Tara Reade’s check fraud charge from 1993. I’ll make a few points…

— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) May 13, 2020

In their story, they impugned Benson’s journalistic integrity.

I, of course, did not alter the emails I obtained. My source says they did not either & has reached out to the Salon writer, offering to share the entire email exchange in question (which the court official declined to do).

— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) May 13, 2020

Beyond that, Reade’s attorney is not denying the charge, which a separate report says was dismissed the following month, after Reade paid what she owed. Nor is anyone disputing the authenticity of the document I obtained/provided showing a previous charge had been expunged.

— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) May 13, 2020

The Salon piece also links to a screenshot of the alleged charge itself, pointing out that I didn’t include it in my story — which is true…because I couldn’t confirm its provenance. I didn’t embed it or link it, unlike the story criticizing my reporting.

— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) May 13, 2020

Finally, I’m not sure what the conspiracy is supposed to be here. I’m making things up in order to help…Joe Biden? Or to smear Reade, whose allegations I’ve treated fairly and consistently, unlike much of the media? I stand by my report. https://t.co/MP1rGFEAk9

— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) May 13, 2020

Unlike Salon, Benson did his due diligence.

Update: I've obtained further confirmation of the eventually-dismissed/resolved check fraud charge (under CA penal code sec 476(a)a, exactly as I reported) via SLO county's DA office. @Salon's bizarre "dirty tricks" piece mentioned above has no merit and should be retracted.

— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) May 14, 2020

It wasn’t just retracted; it was deleted.

Welp, looks like their entire story — which featured a “dirty tricks” headline, and an image of my face and the @townhallcom logo — has been deleted.

— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) May 15, 2020

But not for long:

Sigh. Another update. @Salon has reposted the story with an even more incorrect headline and subhead. My face and @townhallcom’s logo remain featured next to the words “dirty tricks.” Far worse than that… pic.twitter.com/tg8RrFRLqi

— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) May 15, 2020

…my story is not based on “altered emails.” We didn’t alter anything, but the piece still baselessly wonders if I tampered with the email chain. Our reporting was fair and correct.

— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) May 15, 2020

Not that Salon would know fair and correct reporting if it smacked them in the face.

The subhead (“no evidence” Reade was charged with check fraud) is also blatantly false, as *confirmed in Salon’s own piece.* DA affirmed the charge, confirming my original reporting. Several problems laid out earlier in this thread also remain intact.

— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) May 15, 2020

They’ve totally botched this incoherent, conspiratorial hit job & are doubling down, rather than retracting and apologizing. We are evaluating our options at Townhall.

— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) May 15, 2020

Good.