Left-wing Hollywood director Rob Reiner swallowed a fake news MSNBC report that Russians co-signed a loan for President Donald Trump, jumping to Twitter to decry the “mountain of criminality” in the Trump White House.
On Wednesday morning the All in the Family actor went on the attack, writing:
So now we have Russians co-signing Trump’s loans. The mountain of Criminality is overwhelming. Impeachment is just the start. Vote him out. Then indict him. America deserves a President who isn’t a Liar, a Racist, and a Traitor.
So now we have Russians co-signing Trump’s loans. The mountain of Criminality is overwhelming. Impeachment is just the start. Vote him out. Then indict him. America deserves a President who isn’t a Liar, a Racist, and a Traitor.
— Rob Reiner (@robreiner) August 28, 2019
Despite the arm waving and gnashing of teeth, Reiner later looked like a fool after the MSNBC report he cited in his tweet ended up being so loosely sourced that nearly every news agency except MSNBC rushed to debunk the claim.
The report of “Russian billionaire close to Vladimir Putin” co-signing loans for Trump was broadcast by MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell who jumped to air Tuesday evening with his accusations. The story had only a single source — something that violates all journalistic standards.
The report blew up after its airing and by the next morning, it all fell apart and O’Donnell was left apologizing.
Last night I made an error in judgment by reporting an item about the president’s finances that didn’t go through our rigorous verification and standards process. I shouldn’t have reported it and I was wrong to discuss it on the air. I will address the issue on my show tonight.
— Lawrence O'Donnell (@Lawrence) August 28, 2019
O’Donnell’s apology also came on the heels of demands from the president’s attorneys that he issue a retraction.
“These statements are false and defamatory, and extremely damaging,” said the president’s lawyer, Charles Harder of Harder LLP law firm. “The only borrowers under these loans are Trump entities, and Mr. Trump is the only guarantor.”
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston.
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