Repeating accusations that the ABC television network has blocked a DVD release of the miniseries The Path to 9/11 because of the presidential candidacy of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY), Newsradio 850 KOA's “Gunny” Bob Newman declared on his September 5 broadcast that ABC is “owned and operated by the Democratic National Committee.” Belying Newman's suggestion that ABC favors the Democratic Party are numerous examples of distorted ABC news reporting and commentary -- as well as the production and broadcast of The Path to 9/11 -- that disfavored Democrats.

From the September 5 broadcast of Newsradio 850 KOA's The Gunny Bob Show:

NEWMAN: What we're talking about tonight are liars, thieves, con men, killers, Chinese agents, and other Democrats -- a Gunny Bob Show exposé. Now, before we go to the phones, how about this angle here? You talk about dirty pool. ABC, owned and operated by the Democratic National Committee, is refusing to release for sale to the public the miniseries The Path to 9/11, which is highly critical of Bill Clinton for allowing Al Qaeda and [Osama] bin Laden to become as powerful and dangerous as they are. This is the miniseries the Democrats tried to get canceled before it ran on ABC television. Now the Clintons, the DNC, and other left-wing operatives and groups are successfully placing pressure on ABC to not release the DVDs for sale to the public because of feared collateral damage for Hillary. The Los Angeles Times, and even Hollywood types like Oliver Stone, are decrying this censorship. Yes, even parts of the extreme Left Coast are angry at ABC's censorship -- this is how bad it is -- and the Democrats' and Clintonistas' control over ABC.

As Media Matters for America has noted, The Path to 9/11, broadcast September 10 and September 11, 2006, contained factual inaccuracies as well as sharp discrepancies between its account of certain events and the findings laid out in the 9-11 Commission's report, upon which ABC said in a July 2006 press release the “epic miniseries [was] based.” These falsehoods and discrepancies have been documented by Media Matters and noted by numerous others from across the political spectrum. Despite ABC's assertion in the press release that the network regarded it as “absolutely critical” to “get it right,” The Path to 9/11 contained inaccurate and even fabricated scenes that cast the Clinton administration as insufficiently aggressive in combating terrorism and showed President George W. Bush taking aggressive action not indicated in the 9-11 Commission report.

Furthermore, Media Matters has identified numerous instances in which broadcasts by ABC -- which is owned and operated by the publicly held corporation The Walt Disney Company -- misinformed viewers in ways detrimental to Democrats and liberals or beneficial to Republicans and conservatives. On the basis of such broadcasts, Media Matters named ABC “Misinformer of the Year” for 2006. Recent examples include:

• August 25: AP, ABC's Tapper reported on Giuliani's tax cut plans, but not how he would pay for them

• August 17: ABC News' Wright simply asserted that Obama “seemed to criticize” troops

• August 10: Tapper on Dems at HRC debate: “They came, they saw, they pandered”

• July 31: GMA reported that FBI, IRS agents raided Sen. Stevens' home but didn't ID him as Republican

• July 17: On Good Morning America, Sawyer falsely claimed Reid “vows to filibuster”

• July 12: Reporting on Reid exchange, ABC's Tapper suggested without evidence that Sen. Graham wants “a new direction in Iraq”

Newman further claimed that “constitutionalists are understandably worried about” the prospect of a Clinton presidency, and asserted, “Under Hillary's socialist utopia plan for America, she, as supreme leader, would have far more control over the media than she even has now.” Referring to Clinton, Democratic National Committee chairman Howard Dean, and other Democratic officials as “cretinous socialists,” Newman also asserted that they “are expected” to “mount ... a major assault on your free-speech rights” if Clinton were to win the presidency and Democrats were to retain control of Congress as a result of the 2008 elections.

NEWMAN: Under Hillary's socialist utopia plan for America, she, as supreme leader, would have far more control over the media than she even has now -- which constitutionalists are understandably worried about. One of the miniseries' producers, Chris Nowrasteh, says an ABC executive personally told him that if Hillary were not running for president, the DVDs would already be on sale. Is this just the latest evidence of the Clintonistas' ability and left-wing media's willingness to silence opposing voices? If she seizes control of our White House, and if Howard Dean and his DNC henchmen maintain control of Congress in 2008, there is no telling what will happen to freedom of speech in this nation. If these cretinous socialists mount -- as they are expected to do if they win in '08 -- a major assault on your free-speech rights, what do you think ordinary Americans will do in response? If you lose your free-speech rights -- if we start seeing more and more stuff like what the Clintons and Howard Dean and the DNC are doing to ABC, if they're able to do this when they're not in power in the White House, what do you think they'll be able to do when they are? And what do you intend to do about it?