Breitbart doesn't even know what "blackmail" means
November 22, 2009 11:59 am ET by Eric Boehlert
More unintentional comedy, courtesy of Breitbart and Big Government.
As CF noted, Breitbart's defending himself against the claim by Columbia Journalism Review that he's "blackmailing" Attorney General Eric Holder. This, after Breitbart went on Fox News last week and demanded that the DOJ launch an ACORN investigation or that Breitbart would reveal more undercover videos during next year's election season.
Here's Breitbart defending his look-at-me, investigate-or-else charade [emphasis added]:
And now to address the fever-swamp's notion that what I said on "Hannity" last night was "blackmail." Blackmail occurs when one party threatens to reveal an unsavory piece of information about another party, and demands money in exchange for silence.
There's no way Breitbart is trying to blackmail Holder, because Breitbart isn't demanding money, right? Laugh along at Breitbart's ignorance as you read the definition of "blackmail":
1. (Law) to exact or attempt to exact (money or anything of value) from (a person) by threats or intimidation; extort2. to attempt to influence the actions of (a person), esp by unfair pressure or threats
Blackmail has been defined in the broad sense to mean "compelling someone to act against their will or gaining or attempting to gain something of value." Courts vary on interpreting what "something of value" includes, but it is not necessarily a money payment in all cases.
[CJR] has been sitting it out on the sidelines, waiting - rooting - for Hannah Giles, James O'Keefe and me to make a mistake.
Breitbart wants an investigation? Give it to him. Subpoena all the tapes. All of them, and all the working notes of Giles and Okeefe - make them produce them for scrutiny.
The Republicans want to fillibuster health care reform? Bring it on! But don't call for cloture - let them stand on the Senate floor and talk until next year. See how long they can hold out while Momma and the fat little babies wait by the Christmas tree. Meanwhile, start telling the American people about how the founders intended that laws would be passed by a simple majority and the Republicans are thwarting the will of the founding fathers, subverting the constitution and holding for ransom the will of the people. See how that plays out for the Republicans and their buddies in the insurance industry.
These obstructionsts and political hacks need to be called on thier behavior. They have gotten a pass for far too long.
I am just betting that Fox would spend every last cent of Ruprick's millions on a First Amendment Case to stop them from seeing the light of day in an investigation.
The scammers with the video camera may have riled up those right wing zombies who were already convinced that ACORN is a threat to America, but I'm going have a little faith in the American public on this one (ok, I've screwed up that one before, but I'm still an optimist).
To anybody with some critical skills left, the Pimp & Ho scam is much more damaging to the pimp & ho than to ACORN, and that's with the videos edited by and released at the discretion of the filmmakers.
As entertainment these tapes are just lame. As evidence of any wrong doing on the part of ACORN, they are useless. The chain of evidence is non-existent.
Nobody needs to wait, either. He's very punctual with mistakes, always right on time.