While some praised NPR forĀ “finally telling the truth” Thursday after it issued a lengthy correction note admitting it’d “mischaracterized” something President Donald Trump’s son Donald Trump Jr. had said, others were less impressed, including the president’s son.
“I guess this is as close as Iāll get to an apology where yet another ‘bombshell’ bites the dust,” Trump Jr. sarcastically tweeted a couple hours after the left-wing outlet issued its correction.
“Pro tip: donāt just rush to publish anything thinking that itās the got ya you so desperately want it to be. CNN has the market cornered on that… let them own it.”
Look:
I guess this is as close as Iāll get to an apology where yet another ābombshellā bites the dust.
Pro tip: donāt just rush to publish anything thinking that itās the got ya you so desperately want it to be. CNN has the market cornered on that… let them own it ? https://t.co/mtmXp6O8GW
ā Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) November 30, 2018
Initially published early Friday morning, NPR’s original piece falsely claimed the president’s son lied while speaking to Congress last year about the now-notorious Trump Tower deal.
Between 2015 and 2016, the president’s then-personal attorney Michael Cohen spoke with various Russian officials about building a Trump Tower in Moscow.
During meetings with the House and Senate Intelligence Committees in 2017, Cohen lied about the specific timing and extent of these communications with Russian officials.
In a plea deal reached just this week, Cohen fessed up to lying, and according to NPR’s initial report, his admission contradicted with statements previously made by Trump Jr.
“Donald Trump Jr.ās testimony to Congress about his familyās real estate negotiations with powerful Russians does not comport with the new version laid out by Donald Trumpās ex-attorney Michael Cohen, official transcripts show,” NPR falsely alleged.
“Trump Jr. told the Senate Judiciary Committee in September 2017 that although there had been negotiations surrounding a prospective Trump Tower in Moscow, they concluded without result ‘at the end’ of 2014. … The accounts by Trump Jr. contrast with a new version of events given by Cohen on Thursday in a guilty plea in federal court.”
Cohen admitted this week that discussions about the deal continued until 2016.
In response to NPR’s false report, which was picked up and echoed by dozens of other demonstrably left-wing media outlets, liberals on Twitter went wild with glee.
Included among the celebrators were several Democrat congressmen.
Look:
Buh bye, Donnie boy! https://t.co/70Bx9qQQis
ā Millennial Politics (@MillenPolitics) November 30, 2018
Itās increasingly clear Donald Trump Jr misled Sen Judiciary in closed-door testimony. Thereās no excuse for GOP ignoring @SenFeinstein & our demands that he return to testifyāIN PUBLICāabout his familyās ever-changing story & Russian connections in 2016. https://t.co/tKxZpmVkfK
ā Sen. Patrick Leahy (@SenatorLeahy) November 30, 2018
A good lesson for all kids (and for anyone in the White House): the truth always comes out. https://t.co/ox7kMjs65c
ā Eric Swalwell (@ericswalwell) November 30, 2018
LOCK HIM UP: @DonaldJTrumpJr‘s Sept. 2017 testimony to Congress that his family’s real estate negotiations with Russians concluded without result “at the end” of 2014 contrast Cohen’s federal guilty plea that states talks continued through June 2016. https://t.co/3r4D9Phh0p
ā Democratic Coalition (@TheDemCoalition) November 30, 2018
https://t.co/oOqIN0PpIh. @DonaldJTrumpJr your daddy said don’t worry he will get one of the best #MOBBOSSLAWYER out here.. now we no your tough, so I’m sure your ready for jail.. you go #BOY….. LMFAO
ā Johnny, McKenzie (@JohnnyM70547259) November 30, 2018
Oh t-RUMPy tiny āhandsā ? ā¦@realDonaldTrumpā© ā¦@POTUSā© the noose is tightening! ā¦@DonaldJTrumpJrā© is being fitted for his perjury orange jump suit. Youāre NEXT!
Trump Jr.’s 2017 Testimony Conflicts With Cohen’s Account Of Russian Talks https://t.co/hgUNzQ8O6O
ā Keith Schoenthal (@ch1efke1th) November 30, 2018
Except thatĀ the quotes NPR used to “prove” that Trump Jr. lied to Congress in 2017 were taken completely out of context, as noted by National Review.
While the president’s son did admit to Congress that theĀ deal fell apart “at the end” of 2014, the glaring catch is that he’d been referring to another deal,Ā the so-calledĀ Agalarov deal.
“When Trump Jr. refers to the deal that ‘died of deal fatigue,’ he was not referring to the deal Cohen was attempting to broker,” NRO’s David French pointed out. “The Agalarov deal died in 2014. The Cohen deal — according to Trump Jr. — was still alive in 2015 and 2016.”
Transcripts of Trump Jr’s testimony clearly show he did in fact admit that the Trump Tower discussions continued through 2016, as the left-wing outlet has since been forced to admit.
“Trump Jr. and investigators were alluding to a different set of negotiations ā not to a deal that Cohen was reportedly pursuing. Trump Jr. did acknowledge in his testimony that Cohen and another man were exploring a possible deal in Moscow in 2015 or 2016,” NPR admitted in its on-site correction.
(An earlier version of this story and an earlier tweet mischaracterized an answer Donald Trump Jr. gave to Senate investigators in 2017. The story has been updated, and the tweet has been deleted.) pic.twitter.com/R0RGiXOD54
ā NPR (@NPR) November 30, 2018
The problem is that the damage has already been done, and NPR’s “mischaracterization” (or “lie” or “smear,” as some are calling it) has already spread to the far corners of the Internet, in part because the left-wing outlet took so long to issue a correction.
How fake news works:
1. Original source reports something false
2. Other news orgs spread false report
3. After report has saturated the news, original source adds “correction”
4. News orgs that reported original report give corrected version minimal coverage
5. Damage done https://t.co/jTjtvHVTObā Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) November 30, 2018
There’s something about Donald Trump Jr. that causes news outlets to publish a lot of fake news. https://t.co/DYThqNW5y5 @dailycaller
ā Chuck Ross (@ChuckRossDC) November 30, 2018
This means Trump Jr. has his work cut out for him, not that he seems to mind. He’s been using NPR’s correction to smack — for a lack of a better word — his gleeful critics over the head with truth bombs.
Look:
Itās only been 4 hours and this is aging really poorly. Keep trying guys. https://t.co/UtrHh7VXhm
ā Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) November 30, 2018
You were saying senator??? Please correct this immediately so you arenāt misleading many people now that even NPR corrected their sloppy attempt to smear me. https://t.co/dm8np9RIcN
ā Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) November 30, 2018
You were saying Eric? Maybe you should read the correction issued rather than chasing yet another shiny object. After 2 years of fails it just makes you look stupid (a fitting look for you). Obviously the truth isnāt convenient for your objective so I imagine youāll stay quiet! https://t.co/VKpgPcZ8Tj
ā Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) November 30, 2018
Serious question for non-biased āfact checkersā ā What % of corrected or withdrawn stories originally erred in Trumpās favor? I honestly donāt recall a single one. The mediaās āOops, honest mistakeā defense breaks down when you consider this point. @GlennKesslerWP? @APFactCheck?
ā Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) November 30, 2018
His supporters have been equally critical of NPR:
Hell Froze Over. @NPR tells the truth for once. Mark the date in history.
ā Lee Jackson ā ā ā (@Stonewall_77) December 1, 2018
C’mon now. Your journohack outfit didn’t ‘mischaracterize’ Don Jr’s statement. You flat out lied to see if it would A) stick , B) get parroted by the other MSM tripe-slingers and C) damage @realDonaldTrump and his family.
That you receive taxpayer funding is truly nauseating.
ā Daniel J Miller (@DanielJMiller72) December 1, 2018
Is mischaracterized a synonym for lied about? Sadly more people will have heard the first version. That is why news media must fact check and not jump to conclusions. Will the left retweet NPRs recant?
ā Lilly May Hill (@LillyMayHill1) December 1, 2018
I was a devoted npr listener and donor for years but quit during the 2016 election because of biased and incorrect reporting like this.
ā donttellmewhattodo (@slayyourdragon) November 30, 2018
In other words, you lied.
ā Melissa (@lakeratmel) December 1, 2018
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