Breitbart News Selectively Quotes WikiLeaks Email To Lie About Hillary Clinton’s Support Of Marriage Equality

Breitbart News selectively quoted part of a stolen email chain published on WikiLeaks to falsely claim that Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton “still privately opposes gay marriage.”

Citing part of a hacked email chain involving Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta that was released by WikiLeaks, Breitbart News falsely claimed that the discussion proves Clinton “still privately opposes gay marriage, even though she has publicly flipped to embrace it in order to shore up support from the cultural left.” As evidence that Clinton “still believes in traditional marriage,” Breitbart quoted an October 25, 2015, email from Clinton speechwriter Dan Schwerin, which read:

I’m not saying double down or ever say it again. I’m just saying that she’s not going to want to say she was wrong about that, given she and her husband believe it and have repeated it many times. Better to reiterate evolution, opposition to DOMA when court considered it, and forward looking stance.

In the selective part of the email chain quoted -- “she and her husband believe it and have repeated it many times” -- the “it” appears to refer Clinton’s alleged opposition to marriage equality. But as Snopes has already pointed out, the longer email chain makes it clear that the “belief” referred to was Clinton’s “assertion that DOMA was necessary to prevent a more restrictive constitutional amendment limiting same-sex marriage, not a belief in opposition to marriage equality.” Clinton first publicly declared her full support for marriage equality in 2013 after leaving the State Department, and she has repeatedly explained her evolution in support of same-sex marriage.

Breitbart News -- previously operated by Steve Bannon, who now serves as Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s campaign CEO -- regularly publishes articles with the anti-LGBT slurs “trannies” and “faggot” in headlines, peddles anti-gay conspiracy theories, and features pieces by anti-LGBT hate group leaders.

From the October 11 Breitbart News article:

Hillary Clinton still privately opposes gay marriage, even though she has publicly flipped to embrace it in order to shore up support from the cultural left.

Clinton campaign staffers struggled to figure out how to explain her onetime support for the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which her husband signed into law, according to emails from John Podesta’s inbox that were leaked by Wikileaks.

“What about broadening the perspectives at that time? Acknowledging there were a lot of diff views vs she was wrong. ?,” a Clinton campaign staffer mused to colleagues on October 25, 2015.

Lead Clinton speechwriter Dan Schwerin explained that Clinton still believes in traditional marriage:

I’m not saying double down or ever say it again. I’m just saying that she’s not going to want to say she was wrong about that, given she and her husband believe it and have repeated it many times. Better to reiterate evolution, opposition to DOMA when court considered it, and forward looking stance.