It seems that there was some doctoring but not from the White House. The smoking gun that ABC used last Friday turns out itself to have been misleading. All this talk we've heard since Friday's talking points emails surfaced was that the White House had participated in essentially doctoring the talking points to shield the State Department.
Last Friday, ABC's breaking release of these emails started another Benghazi feeding frenzy:
"ABC News reported that White House Deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes wrote an email dated 9/14/12 that said the State Department’s concerns about the details of the attack needed to be addressed in the final talking points. Rhodes was responding to State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland, who emailed that she was concerned the talking points could damage “my building’s leadership.”
It turns out that what was doctored was the supposedly incriminating emails themselves as CNN's Jake Tapper has revealed by putting out the full emails:
"According to CNN, the actual email from Rhodes, also dated 9/14/12, reads:
http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entry/cnn-leaked-benghazi-email-edited-to-focus-on?ref=fpa
So maybe we should have an investigation as to who doctored these emails. I wonder when Darrell Issa will get around to that.
"Carney on Tuesday accused Republicans of editing the emails in order to to serve a political agenda."
Last Friday, ABC's breaking release of these emails started another Benghazi feeding frenzy:
"ABC News reported that White House Deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes wrote an email dated 9/14/12 that said the State Department’s concerns about the details of the attack needed to be addressed in the final talking points. Rhodes was responding to State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland, who emailed that she was concerned the talking points could damage “my building’s leadership.”
“We must make sure that the talking points reflect all agency equities, including those of the State Department, and we don’t want to undermine the FBI investigation," Rhodes said, according to ABC. "We thus will work through the talking points tomorrow morning at the Deputies Committee meeting.”
It turns out that what was doctored was the supposedly incriminating emails themselves as CNN's Jake Tapper has revealed by putting out the full emails:
"According to CNN, the actual email from Rhodes, also dated 9/14/12, reads:
“All –“Sorry to be late to this discussion. We need to resolve this in a way that respects all of the relevant equities, particularly the investigation.“There is a ton of wrong information getting out into the public domain from Congress and people who are not particularly informed. Insofar as we have firmed up assessments that don’t compromise intel or the investigation, we need to have the capability to correct the record, as there are significant policy and messaging ramifications that would flow from a hardened mis-impression.“We can take this up tomorrow morning at deputies.”
"CNN speculates that whoever leaked the White House emails "seemingly invented the notion" that Rhodes, a White House official, wanted State's concerns specifically addressed. Asked about the ABC report on Friday, White House press secretary Jay Carney said that the only edit the administration made to the talking points was to a "non-substantive correction," changing the word "consulate" to "diplomatic post."
http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entry/cnn-leaked-benghazi-email-edited-to-focus-on?ref=fpa
So maybe we should have an investigation as to who doctored these emails. I wonder when Darrell Issa will get around to that.
"Carney on Tuesday accused Republicans of editing the emails in order to to serve a political agenda."
"I think the entire e-mail, the report I read showed the entire e-mail, and what it showed is Republicans who were leaking these press, these e-mails that had been shared with Congress didn't just do that, they decided to fabricate portions of an e-mail and make up portions of an e-mail in order to fit a political narrative," he said at a White House press conference."
Seriously: if this was a deliberate attempt to mislead we need to know that. Meanwhile, ABC is lamely trying to stick by their story.
Yet, while at first Jonathan Karl's piece was supposed to be the emails themselves rather than notes about the emails from what has turned out to be a less than reliable source. Yet you would never know this by reading the mainstream press. All you see is them locking arm in arm with the Republicans doing the Benghazi-IRS, and Associated Press phone records-shuffle.
Even conservative queen Kathleen Parker admits the AP is shuffling with the GOP. No doubt she loves it-the furloughed workers not so much.
"Breaking news: Conservative organizations suddenly have found common cause with one of their favorite objects of contempt — the benighted Mainstream Media."
Meanwhile a new report in Politico-buried way beneath all the jubilant headlines about scandals shows that over 800,000 federal workers have already been furloughed.
GOP fed scandals are about anything but the facts which is why they have yet to make an appearance in today's feeding frenzy.
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