Glenn Greenwald asks "Why Isn't Mehlman's Lie a Bigger Story?" /Foleygate

[KoKo]

(Note: In article, Ed Gillespi also repeated the same lie)

Why isn't the Ken Mehlman lie a bigger story?
I want to return to what I think is an extremely important incident that occurred late in the day last Friday, when events typically get lost in the news cycle. As Think Progress documented, at some point during the day on Friday, the GOP decided to go on television and tell an outright lie -- namely, that when Denny Hastert learned the previous Friday about the IMs exchanged between Mark Foley and Congressional pages (as a result of the ABC story), Hastert delivered an ultimatum to Foley: either resign or be expelled. Thereafter, so the new GOP mythology claimed, Foley resigned.

This story is complete fiction. It never happened. It was just made up by Republican operatives in order to defend Denny Hastert and make him look like some sort of hard-nosed, no-nonsense tough guy who took extraordinary steps against Mark Foley. But there is no doubt that this never happened, and anyone who is saying that it did is, by definition, lying -- and is lying clearly and demonstrably.

It wasn't just some obscure pundit or GOP backbencher who told this lie. The Chairman of the Republican National Committee, Ken Mehlman, went on national television and claimed that Hastert did this:

more at......

http://glenngreenwald.blogspot.com/

[OrangeCountyDemocrat]

1. THAT'S WHAT THEY DO......LIE & LIE SOME MORE & LIE SOME MORE &...

Every single word out of their mouths is a LIE.

[jarnocan]

2. think the media will pick up on this-maybe we should send it?! nt

[enough]

3. K&R

[Gabi Hayes]

4. thanks! amazing that the fricking M$M is more interested in having

jackasses like McHenry and Kingston on, accusing dems of withholding THEIR knowledge of the scandal, while completely ignoring this.

from the link, here's the nut:

This scandal is not and has never been exclusively -- or even primarily -- about what GOP House leaders did in 2003 or 2005 regarding Mark Foley. That is a big part of the story, but bigger still is the blatant lies they have been telling ever since this scandal began. And there is none more deliberate or obvious than that told by Ken Mehlman on Friday to a national television audience.

However immune we have become to misleading statements from political officials, however low our standards of behavior and expectations for our political leaders may have sunk -- no matter how cynical one has become -- shouldn't clear, brazen, outright lies of the type which Ken Mehlman told about the Denny Hastert Ultimatum be considered wrong and intolerable and something for which serious consequences are required?

If we have even the most minimally breathing journalistic life force and the most minimal standards left for behavioral requirements from political officials, this just has to become a huge story. Why should Ken Mehlman be able to go on national television and blatantly lie to everyone about what happened last week at the center of this scandal and not only get away with it, but have nobody really notice?

[TahitiNut]

5. These people should only be questioned under oath.

Even then, I'd only believe half of what they said - the half-truths. But at least they'd spend enough time in prison that they didn't clutter up the PUBLIC's broadcast spectrum. The GOP has become nothing more than an organized crime cabal - deserving of prison time and confiscation of assets.

It should be noted (is Jon Stewart the only one with the balls to do so?) that Mehlman and Gillespie peddled the outright falsehood that Hastert demanded Foley resign at the same time Reynolds was creating a TV ad claiming 'credit' for "forcing Foley to resign" at the same time Kingston and company were claiming that Soros and the Democrats hid the truth. These people have totally lost any track of the cut and color of the Emperor's New Clothes. All the while, the ABC News story was already filed: Foley resigned after not getting a deal that delayed their broadcast of the IMs. So, what we have is lies on top of cover-ups on top of cover-ups. How high can they pile the manure?

[KoKo]

6. The Mainstream Media is STILL not doing it's job. Proven lies and all

we see as spokespersons for Repugs is Pat Buchanan everywhere. Mehlman and Gillespi tell their lies and then are hiding out somewhere putting out Buchanan to explain it all.

Why has only Greenwald caught this?

Agree it's disgusting how high that pile of manure is getting. :nuke:

[cui bono]

7. Hastert has said it too... I couldn't believe it when I heard him claim

he had Foley resign immediately when he found out.

I heard someone else cover this... don't remember who, most likely Al Franken since I listen to him every morning. I think I read about it in either WaPo or NYT as well.

[truthisfreedom]

8. someone inform the NYT and WP about this. someone has to care enough

to write about such an obvious rewrite of history.

[ellacott]

9. I picked up on this immediately and did try to get the word out

I remember abc reported that when they confronted Foley about the IM's that he resigned.

I've seen the dems on MSM letting the Repubs say this and wanted to scream at the tv.

We have some of the worst spokespersons on our side. They don't do their homework and let them get away with these misstatements.

[Justice]

10. Reynolds is saying it too - in his campaign commercial - he says HE told

Foley to resign after he (Reynolds) heard/read the IM messages.