UPDATE: In a statement to Mediaite, Fox News senior vice president for news Michael Clemente said, “The tweets have been addressed with Heather and she understands this was a mistake.”
Heather Childers, a “straight news” anchor for the Fox News weekend program America's News Headquarters and co-host of Fox & Friends First, tweeted this afternoon: “Thoughts? Did Obama Campaign Threaten Chelsea Clinton's Life 2 Keep Parents Silent?” and linked to a blog post pushing a conspiracy involving the Obama campaign murdering, or threatening to murder, individuals to keep quiet questions about Obama's eligibility.
From Childers' Twitter:
Childers tweeted a post from godfatherpolitics.com by “da Tagliare,” who asks in the title, “Did Barack Obama Campaign Threaten Life of Chelsea Clinton to Keep Parents Silent on Obama's Ineligibility?” The post passes on suggestions from film producer Bettina Viviano about Obama associates threatening individuals to hide secrets about Obama's eligibility. The post also forwards suggestions that the Obama campaign was involved in the murder of former head of the Arkansas Democratic Party, Bill Gwatney; threatened President Clinton; and “told him that his daughter Chelsea would be next if he opened his mouth.”
Godfatherpolitics.com has declared that President Obama's birth certificate is a “fraud.” Recent posts on the subject include: “World Media Picking Up Obama Birth Certificate Fraud While America's Media Remains Silent”; "Mr. President - Put Up or Shut Up!"; and "Alabama Supreme Court Justice Says Barack Obama Birth Certificate Would Not Stand Up in Court."
In response to a critical tweet from Media Matters executive vice president Ari Rabin-Havt, Childers wrote: “I know Media Matters strives 2b FACTUALLY correct so attach the article plz. I was asking 4 opinion.” She did not respond to an email asking why she thought the blog post was noteworthy, and whether she thought it made any valid points. When I tweeted to Childers that I sent her a request for comment via email, Childers replied with the same tweet she sent to Rabin-Havt.
Childers has since deleted her tweets responding to Media Matters staff. A screenshot of Childers' Twitter timeline, taken at 2:34pm E.T.:
Childers subsequently tweeted at 3:30pm E.T.: “My ONE question, ”Thoughts?".. article headline... which happens to be a question. Here: http://godfatherpolitics.com/4506/obama-campaign-threaten-life-of-chelsea-clinton-to-keep-parents-silent-on-obamas-ineligibility/#.T3sutNslxbU.twitter"
A screenshot of Childers' Twitter response to me, via an email from Twitter:
UPDATE: After the publication of this post, Childers tweeted that Fox anchors “present both sides but people see what they want.” She concluded: “Here's the thing folks... that ONE topic sure got alot [sic] of you tweeting. Why? I apologize if the article offended anyone. Very interesting.” From Childers' Twitter:
