I wonder if MSNBC can get its money back on that special “Watergate Jr.” graphic and the ominous theme music they used when throwing their resources (and reputations) at James O’Keefe?
The charges against O’Keefe and three other men have been reduced to a misdemeanor offense of entering federal property under false pretenses. Yes, the extent of their offense is that two of the men dressed up like the construction worker in the Village People and claimed to be phone repairmen. Call it “Misdemeanor Mischief.”
O’Keefe and his cohorts now get their day in court to defend against these charges, or to negotiate a plea with federal prosecutors. So, to paraphrase former Labor Secretary Ray Donovan: Which office does O’Keefe go to get his reputation back?
To be clear, no one endorses breaking any Federal laws. But O’Keefe was the victim of a high-tech tar-an- feather job by the likes of Rachel Maddow, Ed Schultz, Keith Olbermann and David Shuster. NBC even used scarce news department resources to fly Shuster down to New Orleans so he could have his pulse on every non-development in the story. In fact, the only news Shuster broke while in New Orleans was at the hands of Andrew Breitbart forcing him to retract his own words on live television. Proud as a Peacock.
Even today, MSNBC is negligent and deceitful in its “reporting” on this latest development. Their headline reads: “O’Keefe, others plan to plead guilty.” That’s their angle? The story is that federal prosecutors have reduced the charge to a misdemeanor instead of the felony MSNBC has been shouting about for months. But mention of the dropped felony charge is not made until the final paragraph of the story.
Finally, Media Matters for America and other left-wing media “watchdogs” spent a lot of time attacking O’Keefe for his public statements, his defense and his appearance on the Hannity show. They claimed that his story made no sense and it was “lame“, “absurd on its face,” and “obvious lies.” But, the minor charges that federal prosecutors filed today actually mesh exactly with O’Keefe’s statement and description of events.
So again, the question is: Where does O’Keefe go to get his reputation back? Is it somewhere at 30 Rock?