CONSERVATIVE MISINFORMATION ALERT: Foley Scandal: The Dems Did It?

Mainstream Media Spreads Unfounded Conservative "Conspiracy" Theory

Washington, DC - Today, Media Matters for America documented several conservative media figures and outlets uncritically perpetuating the notion that Democrats are behind the scandal involving former Rep. Mark Foley (R-FL).

Despite reports in The Hill that the source for ABC News' original report on Foley was a Republican congressional staffer, several conservatives in the media still assert the topic is up for debate. The Hill report states that the source who revealed Foley's suspect e-mails to the former House page "says the documents came to him from a House GOP aide" and that the "aide has been a registered Republican since becoming eligible to vote."

A Democratic Conspiracy?

MSNBC: On a recent edition of MSNBC's Hardball, host Chris Matthews asked Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC) if Democrats "had anything to do with holding information" about Foley's alleged communications with the former pages "and dropping it on ABC." McHenry replied that "I don't know that they did not," and noted that he has written a letter demanding that Democrats under suspicion "submit themselves under oath" regarding their prior knowledge of the instant messages. Matthews also failed to challenge Rep. Jack Kingston's (R-GA) statement that he "would be very surprised if Foley's opponent [Democratic challenger Tim Mahoney] knew absolutely nothing of this."

ABC: On ABC's This Week, host George Stephanopoulos asked Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-IL), Chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee: "All week long, there have been suggestions by - on talk radio and by Republicans and their allies that this was perhaps a Democratic dirty trick, and I just want to ask you plainly: Did you or your staff know anything about these emails or instant messages before they came out?"

NBC: Host Tim Russert of NBC's Meet the Press quoted House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-IL) from a Chicago Tribune interview asserting, "The people who want to see this blow up are ABC News and a lot of Democratic operatives, people funded by George Soros," then added that Soros "has given millions and millions of dollars to Democratic causes." He then asked Missouri State Auditor Claire McCaskill, a Democratic candidate for Senate, "Have any Democratic operatives been involved in spreading this information?"

Additionally, on NBC's Today, co-host Matt Lauer also repeated Hastert's comments to the Tribune - describing the theory as "the Republicans' version of the 'vast right-wing conspiracy'" - but made no mention of Ross's recent statement or The Hill report.

NPR: Host Melissa Block of NPR's All Things Considered interviewed former House Ethics Committee Chair Joel Hefley (R-CO) about the Foley scandal. After Hefley said the Ethics Committee should look at whether House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi's (CA) office was involved in the scandal, Block asked whether Hefley agreed that there was merit to Hastert's accusations that "these revelations are the work of Democratic operatives." She did not mention the news reports that have contradicted Hastert; Hefley admitted that while he "can't say" that the charges are true, he "think[s] it's a possibility."

CNN: On CNN's American Morning, congressional correspondent Dana Bash uncritically reported Hastert's unsubstantiated claim that Democrats were behind the revelations about Foley, ignoring The Hill report. Hastert, according to Bash, "stepped up a charge that he has been making in the past couple of days that Democrats were behind the timing of all this. He said that his opponents, funded by George Soros, even aligned with Bill Clinton, held on to this to make a bigger splash right before the election."

Also on American Morning, congressional correspondent Joe Johns - after asserting without elaboration that Republicans, "especially conservatives," normally "like campaigns to be run on higher ground"- aired a clip of conservative activist Manuel Miranda echoing Hastert's claim. Miranda said, "[I]f Democrats were holding back information of this sort, they could also be held liable under criminal law for endangering the welfare of minors."

For more coverage, please CLICK HERE.

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