Conservative Leaders Speak Out on Media's Treatment of Brett Kavanaugh
Ahead of Thursday’s testimony by Judge Brett Kavanaugh sexual assault accuser Christine Blasey Ford, top conservative leaders have been outspoken in criticizing mainstream media outlets for their treatment of the Supreme Court nominee, pointing to the political nature of the attacks and the unfairness of the media’s coverage.
Newsbusters gathered statements from conservative leaders likening the coverage to a “lynching,” or calling Ford a “pawn” in a chess game for power.
Retired Lt. Gen. William Boykin, executive vice President of the Family Research Council, said, “I thought lynching was made illegal and that the burden of proof rested upon the accuser, not the accused. Apparently the liberal media thinks the burden of proof is on the accused, while ignoring the sins of their very own people.”
Mathew D. Staver, founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel, said, “Democrats and the radical left have no honor. While refusing to investigate current, ongoing sexual complaints against leaders in their own party, they show no shame in using uncorroborated allegations from over 35 years ago that have been have been denied by anyone with knowledge of the time period.”
He added, “Their character assassination has nothing to do with truth or sexual misconduct but everything to do with abortion and their rejection of a judge who respects the rule of law. They are part of the resistance and we should not underestimate their evil schemes.”
Floyd Brown, publisher of The Western Journal, stated, “Media coverage of alleged charges by Christine Ford are next to ridiculous. The cheerleading is so intense they are saying: ‘I believe Christine’ without even hearing a word out of her mouth or seeing her in person.”
Veteran reporter Mark Tapscott, editor of Laura Ingraham’s news site Lifezette, said, “In all my 30+ years as a journalist, I’ve never seen so much sloppy reporting and editing. It’s not the internet’s fault. As Wes Pruden, my managing editor at The Washington Times told me years ago, ‘get it first, but first get it right.'”
According to a study by the Media Research Center, the mainstream media coverage of the case has been overwhelmingly opposed to Kavanaugh.
The study found the big three networks, ABC, CBS and NBC, had given Ford’s accusations 344 minutes of total coverage — almost six hours. However, “only a tiny percentage of that coverage — a measly eight percent — has been devoted to Kavanaugh’s denials and the lack of corroboration for his accusers’ accounts,” the study found.
Both Family Research Council President Tony Perkins and former Sen. Rick Santorum believe Kavanaugh that Ford is being used as a pawn in the Democrats’ efforts to derail the nominee.
“At a time like this, prudence helps us see that the truth is that a political railroading operation is fully underway. Are the interests of Christine Ford and other accusers being attended to?” Perkins asked. “Or are the accusers being used by political actors who only care about stopping Judge Kavanaugh?
“It is beyond apparent that Senate Democrats and their enablers are most interested — not in the truth — but in a deliberate campaign to derail this confirmation with the hopes that they can continue to use the court to impose policies on Americans like abortion on demand, the redefinition of marriage, open borders and the list goes on — all policies which the American people have rejected.”
Santorum told CNN on Thursday, “If I was a member sitting there, I would be looking at Dr. Ford as someone who is, I hate to say this but a pawn in a bigger chess game.” (The video is published by The Hill. Santorum’s comments come about the 33:30 mark.)
“She’s not lying,” he added. “I think she does believe that it was him. But sometimes, as we all know, our memories are wrong.”
Ford detailed her allegations before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday.
Christine Blasey Ford gives testimony of alleged sexual assault by Supreme Court nominee Kavanaugh. Watch live: https://t.co/IIZtI51h10 via @ReutersTV pic.twitter.com/z49cuQVwTv
— Reuters (@Reuters) September 27, 2018
Her testimony during her opening statement was consistent with an account she gave to The Washington Post earlier this month.
Ford recounted that in the summer of 1982 when she was 15, she attended a party in which Kavanaugh was present. He would have been 17 at the time.
Ford said that Kavanaugh and his friend Mark Judge trapped her in a room and Kavanaugh groped her and tried to take her clothes off.
When she screamed for help, Ford said he put his hand over her mouth, putting her in fear the teenage boy might accidentally kill her, she said.
The college professor disputed the notion that she came forward for political purposes, stating she approached her congresswoman in early July, when Kavanaugh was mentioned as being on the short list of President Donald Trump’s nominees.
“I have been accused of acting out of partisan political motives. Those who say that do not know me,” Ford said. “I am a fiercely independent person and I am no one’s pawn.
“My motivation in coming forward was to provide the facts about how Mr. Kavanaugh’s actions have damaged my life, so that you can take that into serious consideration as you make your decision about how to proceed,” she continued.
“It is not my responsibility to determine whether Mr. Kavanaugh deserves to sit on the Supreme Court. My responsibility is to tell the truth.”
Kavanaugh has fiercely denied Ford’s allegations and those made by two other women stemming from the early 1980s.
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