SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
For Immediate Release
October, 01 2009, 03:13pm EDT
Contact:
Jess Levin (202) 772-8162
jlevin@mediamatters.org
Enough Is Enough
Right-wing machine's targeting of Jennings is latest in smear campaign against administration officials
WASHINGTON
Today, Media Matters for
America denounced the latest development in the ongoing, highly coordinated,
Fox News-driven smear campaign against Obama administration officials and
nominees.
Media conservatives recently called for
the firing of Department of Education official Kevin Jennings.
Their demands, based
on made-up claims, follow what has become a clear pattern for the
conservative media: launching baseless attacks against administration officials as part of an ongoing
witch hunt designed for pure partisan gain.
"There is no line
the right-wing media won't cross in their relentless quest to destroy the Obama administration," said Eric
Burns, president of Media Matters. "This
isn't investigative journalism -- it's a partisan witch hunt. It is time
responsible journalists called it what it is. Enough is enough."
BACKGROUND
The smear campaign underway against Jennings
relies on the made-up charge that Jennings
"cover[ed] up statutory rape" that he was purportedly informed of 21 years ago. In fact, Jennings' attorney wrote in a 2004
letter that the student involved was 16 years old, which is the legal age of
consent in Massachusetts.
But conservative media figures, among them Sean
Hannity and the Washington Times,
have recklessly advanced the smear.
Such indefensible accusations follow a well established pattern. As Media Matters has repeatedly noted, members of the
conservative media, Glenn Beck key among them, are conducting a relentless and frequently defamatory witch hunt for "czars" in
the Obama administration.
Office of Safe and
Drug-Free Schools Director Kevin Jennings
- Hannity and Fox News
defended Hastert during Foley scandal
https://mediamatters.org/research/200910010001
- Despite evidence to
contrary, Fox News machine claims Jennings
"cover[ed] up statutory rape"
https://mediamatters.org/research/200909300050
- After FoxNews.com
truncated Jennings'
quote, Wash. Times,
Fox Nation accuse "safe school czar" of "encouraging"
statutory rape
https://mediamatters.org/research/200909280021
- More witch-hunting:
Fox News targets "safe schools czar" Kevin Jennings
https://mediamatters.org/research/200909240038
White House science
and technology adviser John Holdren
- Hannity falsely claims
science adviser Holdren "advocated compulsory abortion"
https://mediamatters.org/research/200909090028
- Hannity again
falsely claimed Holdren "has talked in favor of compulsory abortion
and sterilization"
https://mediamatters.org/clips/200909100008
- Fox's Pinkerton:
"mad scientist" Holdren "calling for mandatory euthanasia
and sterilization and population control"
https://mediamatters.org/clips/200909150002
State Department
legal adviser Harold Koh
- Hannity advances
dubious claim that Koh "advocates Sharia law in America"
https://mediamatters.org/research/200909100040
- Hannity again claims
Holdren "supports compulsory abortion," Koh "says the U.S.
should follow Sharia law in certain cases"
https://mediamatters.org/clips/200909100062
- After Hannity smears
Holdren, Koh, Sunstein, Stephanopoulos replies, "I will have to
investigate them"
https://mediamatters.org/clips/200909100025
Chief diversity
officer at the Federal Communications Commission Mark Lloyd
- Wash. Times
enlists in Beck's crusade against FCC diversity officer Mark Lloyd
https://mediamatters.org/research/200909230041
- Beck claims FCC
"diversity czar" Lloyd's statement that we need "more
people of color, gays" in "important positions" is
"un-American"
https://mediamatters.org/clips/200909220036
- Dobbs now
race-baiting Mark Lloyd, FCC's chief diversity officer
https://mediamatters.org/clips/200909210034
Office of
Information and Regulatory Affairs Administrator Cass Sunstein
- Witch hunt
continues: Fox goes after Sunstein with false smears
https://mediamatters.org/research/200909100053
- Napolitano on
Sunstein: "His potential damage is limitless"
https://mediamatters.org/clips/200909090048
- Fox News' Rosen:
"Rats could attack us in the sewers and court systems if all of Cass
Sunstein's writings became law"
https://mediamatters.org/clips/200909090046
Media Matters for America is a Web-based, not-for-profit, 501(c)(3) progressive research and information center dedicated to comprehensively monitoring, analyzing, and correcting conservative misinformation in the U.S. media.
LATEST NEWS
GOP Ripped for 'Holding US Economy Hostage' as Nearly Half of States Face Recession
"At a time when costs are rising and tariffs are wreaking havoc on people's pocketbooks, Republicans are doubling down on their agenda of raising healthcare costs on millions of Americans."
Oct 20, 2025
US states accounting for roughly a third of the nation's gross domestic product are currently in recession or on the verge of one as the federal government shutdown enters its fourth week, with congressional Republicans and President Donald Trump refusing to support an extension of key healthcare subsidies that are set to lapse at the end of the year.
A recent analysis by Moody's Analytics chief economist Mark Zandi estimates that 22 states are experiencing an economic downturn or are at serious risk of recession, a nascent crisis fueled by Trump's tariffs, mass deportations, and sweeping attack on the federal workforce—an assault that has intensified since the federal government shut down at the beginning of October.
States currently in or on the brink of recession include Maine, Oregon, Washington, Illinois, and Georgia. Among the states “treading water” are California and New York, according to Zandi, whose analysis was based on figures that predated the government shutdown.
Leor Tal, campaign director at the progressive advocacy coalition Unrig Our Economy, said Monday in response to the analysis that "Republicans in Congress are holding the US economy hostage, and working families are paying the price."
"At a time when costs are rising and tariffs are wreaking havoc on people's pocketbooks, Republicans are doubling down on their agenda of raising healthcare costs on millions of Americans," said Tal. "It's time for congressional Republicans to reopen the government, extend the healthcare tax credits, and start lowering costs for working families."
The shutdown, which Trump has embraced and exploited to advance his far-right agenda, began at a time when the country's economy was already on uneasy footing, with food prices continuing to rise despite the president's campaign promises, GOP Medicaid cuts causing chaos across the nation, and the labor market flashing signs of distress.
With no end to the shutdown in sight, The Associated Press noted Sunday that the "the U.S. Travel Association said the travel economy is expected to lose $1 billion a week as travelers change plans to visit national parks, historic sites, and the nation's capital, where many facilities such as Smithsonian Institution museums and the National Zoo are now closed to visitors."
If the government remains shut down in November, tens of millions of Americans could see cuts to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits—which boost the economy while reducing hunger—and other aid.
Meanwhile, even as the Trump administration withholds federal labor market data amid the shutdown, economists say private and state-level figures signal escalating pain for workers that is sure to intensify the longer the closure persists.
"The fingerprints of Trump policy decisions are most clearly found in the distinct rise in federal [unemployment insurance] claims—claims filed specifically by workers laid off from federal agencies," Elise Gould and Joe Fast of the Economic Policy Institute wrote last week. "However, we are also seeing troubling trends in UI claims in regular state programs, particularly in the Washington, DC metropolitan area."
"The shutdown (and potentially the attempted politicization of key government data-collection agencies) could leave policymakers flying blind just as the economy encounters real turbulence," they cautioned.
John Diamond, director of the Center for Public Finance at Rice University's Baker Institute, warned earlier this month that the shutdown "could be a tipping point to recession."
"If it is resolved quickly, the costs will be small," Diamond argued, "but if it drags on, it could send the US economy into a tailspin."
Keep ReadingShow Less
DOJ Whistleblower Details Being Ordered to Lie in Court About Kilmar Abrego García
"It is the highest, most egregious violation of a lawyer's code of ethics to mislead a court with intent," said Erez Reuveni.
Oct 20, 2025
A former US Department of Justice lawyer on Sunday described how an appointee of President Donald Trump told him to lie about Kilmar Abrego García’s supposed ties to the gang MS-13 after he was wrongfully deported to El Salvador earlier this year.
During an interview with CBS News' "60 Minutes," whistleblower Erez Reuveni said that he was told by a superior at DOJ to argue in court against bringing Abrego García back to the US on the grounds that he was an MS-13 member and a "terrorist."
Reuveni said that he refused to sign onto this strategy because the claims being made about Abrego García were flatly untrue.
"That is not correct," he said of the claims. "That is not factually correct. It is not legally correct. That is, that is a lie. And I cannot sign my name to that brief."
Reuveni went on to say that, even if Abrego García had been a gang member, his right to due process was still being violated by the Trump DOJ.
"What matters here is that they did everything they did to him in violation of his due process rights," he said. "What's to stop them if they decide they don't like you anymore, to say you're a criminal, you're a member of MS-13, you're a terrorist, what's to stop them from sending in some DOJ attorney at the direction of DOJ leadership to delay, to filibuster, and if necessary, to lie?"
Reuveni also discussed how the Trump DOJ had defied court orders by rushing to send a plane full of purportedly undocumented immigrants to be detained in El Salvador’s Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT), a facility that for years has drawn criticism for alleged systematic human rights abuses.
Specifically, he said that former Trump DOJ official Emil Bove—who was confirmed to a lifetime seat as a federal judge earlier this year, even after Reuveni first spoke out against him—said during a meeting in February that the department was to not let anything interfere with the planes that were transporting the immigrants to El Salvador, even if it meant defying direct court orders.
The very next day, government lawyer Drew Ensign, who had been at that meeting, told Judge James Boasberg in court that he had no idea whether the government was planning imminently to fly the planes out of the country. Reuveni said this shocked him because it was impossible to believe that Ensign sincerely had no idea that the government was planning to fly the planes out that very day.
"It is the highest, most egregious violation of a lawyer's code of ethics to mislead a court with intent," Reuveni emphasized. "We really did tell the court, screw you. We really did just tell the courts, we don't care about your order. You can't tell us what to do. That was just a real gut punch."
"60 Minutes" correspondent Scott Pelley noted during the interview that while Reuveni previously spoke out about Bove's directive to disregard court orders, the interview on Sunday marked the first time since then that the former DOJ lawyer had broadcast his allegations in a TV appearance.
Reuveni acknowledged that the interview brought up safety concerns for him and his family.
"At the same time, I think about what we're losing in this moment, I think about why I went to the Department of Justice—to do justice. I took an oath to uphold and defend the Constitution," he said. "I would not be faithfully abiding by my oath if I stayed silent right now.”
This is the first time former DOJ attorney Erez Reuveni has shown his face in such a public way. He says he felt he needed to speak out despite his safety concerns.
“I took an oath to uphold and defend the Constitution,” Reuveni says. “I would not be faithfully abiding by my… pic.twitter.com/osLCRDIfVm
— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) October 19, 2025
Abrego Garcia was detained in El Salvador for two months, with the Trump administration repeatedly claiming it had no way to return him to the US, before he was finally transferred to the US, where he is facing human smuggling charges. He was transferred to a detention facility in Pennsylvania last month and the Trump administration is still seeking to deport him.
He pleaded not guilty to the charges in June.
Keep ReadingShow Less
Dismissing Concerns of US Farmers, Trump Claims Argentina 'Dying' to Justify $40 Billion Bailout
"If you're the President of Argentina, Trump gives you a $20 billion bailout. If you're an American whose health care premiums are about to double? Tough luck."
Oct 20, 2025
President Donald Trump's allegiance to Argentina's right-wing government is appearing to undermine his signature claim—for those who ever believed it—that he always puts "America first" in his policymaking, as critics continue to bash the Republican leader for his outsized support for Argentina's failing economy compared to the suffering of US consumers, farmers, and workers.
Asked by a reporter aboard Air Force One on Sunday whether he was concerned about US farmers who feel a $40 billion bailout he has helped orchestrate for the beleaguered South American nation "is benefiting Argentina more than it is them," Trump was dismissive of the reporter and the question.
"Look, Argentina is fighting for its life, young lady," Trump mansplained to the female reporter. "You don't know anything about it—they're fighting for their life. Nothing's benefiting Argentina. They are fighting for their life. You understand what that means? They have no money. They have no anything. They're fighting so hard to survive."
After slashing billions in foreign aid around the world this year, cuts that experts say are costing real lives in some of the poorest nations on earth, Trump went on to claim that it was his duty to help struggling Argentina, currently governed by his far-right friend and ally, President Javier Milei, who has driven the economy into a tailspin with his chainsaw-inspired austerity.
Q: What do you have to say to farmers who feel that the deal is benefitting Argentina more than it is them?
TRUMP: Look, Argentina is fighting for its life, young lady. You don't know anything about it. You understand what that means? They are dying pic.twitter.com/1DMyaHtcTR
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 20, 2025
"If I can help them survive in a free world," Trump suggested he would do just that for Argentina. "I happen to like the president of Argentina. I think he's trying to do the best he can. But don't make it sound like they are doing great. They are dying, alright? They're dying."
Trump admitted last week during a cabinet meeting that the $40 bailout is aimed at helping what he described as a "good financial philosophy" of Milei, the far-right libertarian who has slashed pension payments for retired workers, trashed regulations, and eviscerated public spending in deference to corporate and capitalist profits.
Writing for Jacobin, Branko Marcetic argued earlier this month that what it boils down to is that Trump will find funds to salvage the failed policies of Milei, but not healthcare or other needs for American workers or their families.
"In other words," wrote Marcetic, "Trump is sending billions of Americans’ dollars to a foreign country to prop up a failing president who has run his country into the ground by following Trump’s own policy preferences. If Milei fails, Trump’s own, very similar austerity program will take a major blow too.
Soybean farmers across the US have been outspoken about how much Trump's tariff policies have harmed them this year, with China—historically the largest importer of US soybeans—shutting them out, even as they scooped up Argentinian soybeans at bargain prices earlier this year after Milei cut his nation's export tax.
Trump has promised soybean farmers a bailout of their own, but that process has stalled amid the ongoing government shutdown, which Republicans in control of Congress have maintained despite furious calls that doing so puts the healthcare of tens of millions of Americans at risk of soaring premium hikes or lost coverage.
Leading the charge for Trump's policy on Argentina—including $20 billion in US taxpayer funds to stabilize the nation's currency as well as creating a separate $20 billion fund of private investments—is Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who has said supporting Argentina is vital to US interests and will continue.
However, underneath the administration's support for Argentina lurks the presence of high-profile US investors, some of them closely connected to members of the administration, including Bessent allies and Wall Street players who have backed Trump.
Popular Information's Judd Legum has reported extensively on the financial interests benefiting most from the bailout scheme— and it's not US farmers or consumers. As Legum noted last week:
While farmers struggle to survive and the federal government is shut down, Milei is riding high thanks to the cash infusion from the Trump administration. “There will be an avalanche of dollars,” Milei said in a radio interview shortly before traveling to the White House. “We’ll have dollars pouring out of our ears.”
Speaking with The New Yorker's John Cassidy, former IMF chief economist Maurice Obstfeld explained that one "worrisome" dynamic when it comes to the Argentina bailout is that Bessent is repeatedly saying we will be there for the long term and we will do whatever it takes. He is effectively saying to foreign investors, ‘You will be able to get out whole.’”
As $20 billion has quickly morphed into $40 billion in financial backing of the flailing economy led by the slash-and-burn ideology of Milei, Trump said the US government is also considering buying up beef exports in an effort to control the price for US producers.
“We would buy some beef from Argentina,” he told reporters aboard the Sunday flight on Air Force. “If we do that, that will bring our beef prices down.”
However, with the government shutdown ongoing and Republicans refusing to budge on Democratic demands that healthcare costs be contained, there's no end in sight for relief when it comes to American families facing massive spikes in monthly premiums or loss of health coverage completely.
As Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) noted last week: "If you're the President of Argentina, Trump gives you a $20 billion bailout. If you're an American whose health care premiums are about to double? Tough luck."
Keep ReadingShow Less
Most Popular