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NBC Goes For the Jugular, Misses

Here's the story so far. Arianna takes a few swipes at Tim Russert. NBC attacks Arianna, but instead of going after her on the facts, dregs up a 12 year old false claim by GOP'er Ed Rollins in his memoir, "Bare Knuckles and Back Rooms" that she hired a private investigator to dig up dirt on Russert's wife, Vanity Fair author Maureen Orth.

Richard Bradley, an editor of George Magazine in 1996, writes today about an article in the November, 1996 issue of the magazine written by John B. Roberts II, a former Reagan speech-writing assistant who did research for Rollins' book, in which Roberts said Rollins falsified information in his memoir.

The Fresno Bee ran this item on Roberts' article:( October 20, 1996)

Anyone who actually believed everything Rollins wrote will be dismayed. But even readers who took the Spinmeister's tales with a grain of salt will be surprised by the extent of his apparent deceptions.

Arianna always denied the charge. The LA Times quotes her on August 6, 1996:

This isn't a matter of opinion, this is objective truth. I'm saying I didn't and I can prove it; he's saying I did and he can't prove it," Arianna Huffington said. She called the book "pay for spew," and said her lawyers are preparing a suit against Rollins.

The Washington Post on the same date had this refutation:

Ariana Huffington said yesterday that "I never respond to personal attacks," but she vigorously disputed Rollins's specific contention that she had hired private investigators to prove that her husband's opponent, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D), had employed an illegal alien maid and to investigate Maureen Orth, a magazine writer who was preparing a profile on her.

"Both these things are completely false," she said in a telephone interview. "I have never in my life hired a private investigator."

Rollins insisted in a subsequent interview that he had overheard Ariana Huffington talking about "the detective's report on Maureen Orth." Asked to respond to statements from three campaign officials that the investigation of the Feinstein maid was conducted on their orders, not Ariana Huffington's, Rollins said, "If she wants to argue technicalities at this point, it's [expletive]."

If that's all that NBC could come up with, it's a pretty cheap shot.

[Graphic created exclusively for TalkLeft by CL.]

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    Re: NBC Goes For the Jugular, Misses (none / 0) (#1)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Fri Jan 27, 2006 at 07:23:36 PM EST
    This really makes Russert look like a tool. He and Matthews are really becoming, to the general populace, the idiots that many of us always thought they were.

    Re: NBC Goes For the Jugular, Misses (none / 0) (#2)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Fri Jan 27, 2006 at 07:24:33 PM EST
    Arianna takes a few swipes at Tim Russert.
    "a few swipes"??? Arianna goes after Tim at least once a week. She has some sort of obsession with him, possibly an unhealthy one, but I tend to skip those posts.

    Re: NBC Goes For the Jugular, Misses (none / 0) (#3)
    by Sailor on Fri Jan 27, 2006 at 07:57:25 PM EST
    If only NBC had gone for the juggler; Russert may not be able to keep 3 balls in the air, but he manages quite well with 2 on his chin.

    Re: NBC Goes For the Jugular, Misses (none / 0) (#4)
    by squeaky on Fri Jan 27, 2006 at 08:59:05 PM EST
    Sailor-
    but he manages quite well with 2 on his chin.
    Are you suggesting that he and Chris Matthews are um...having an affair.

    Re: NBC Goes For the Jugular, Misses (none / 0) (#5)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Fri Jan 27, 2006 at 10:28:58 PM EST
    I guess NBC didn't learn the lesson Oprah did. Tsk, tsk, tsk. You gotta' becareful these days about quoting "memoirs."

    Re: NBC Goes For the Jugular, Misses (none / 0) (#6)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Fri Jan 27, 2006 at 10:29:57 PM EST
    Oops. Be careful. I'm so tired.

    Re: NBC Goes For the Jugular, Misses (none / 0) (#7)
    by Edger on Sat Jan 28, 2006 at 01:42:27 AM EST
    "Big Russ" must be just aburstin' with pride. You know your son has reached his pinnacle of success, when he can call out the slime machine anytime he wants.

    Re: NBC Goes For the Jugular, Misses (none / 0) (#8)
    by Johnny on Sat Jan 28, 2006 at 05:34:43 AM EST
    Wow! Sailor! Be careful, that may get deleted.

    Re: NBC Goes For the Jugular, Misses (none / 0) (#9)
    by jimakaPPJ on Sat Jan 28, 2006 at 06:38:55 AM EST
    I really don't care if both parties hack away at each other until their arms fall off. But I am curious on one point. Arianna said "I never hired..." And we have the three campaign workers saying they did... Question is, who told the camoaugn workers to do it? Are we supposed to believe that three worker bees decided to raid the other hive, all by themselves? That doesn't pass the BS test.

    Re: NBC Goes For the Jugular, Misses (none / 0) (#10)
    by Sailor on Sat Jan 28, 2006 at 08:19:44 AM EST
    I somehow doubt you are sincerely curious, I think it is more likely just a continuation of the swiftboating. And it all begs the question of why NBC would crank up their massive PR machine in a whisper campaign of personal slime attacks instead of trying to refute the facts of russert's pandering to the bush admin, lying about being a player in plamegate and not disclosing he has a most personal interest in a show he was promoting.

    Re: NBC Goes For the Jugular, Misses (none / 0) (#11)
    by Sailor on Sat Jan 28, 2006 at 08:22:30 AM EST
    Johnny, personally I thought it a clever way of staying within the rules, but even if it is deleted it was worth it;-)

    Re: NBC Goes For the Jugular, Misses (none / 0) (#12)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Jan 28, 2006 at 08:50:58 AM EST
    well done sailor, you responded to ppj's bs, without getting charlied(banned)

    Re: NBC Goes For the Jugular, Misses (none / 0) (#13)
    by squeaky on Sat Jan 28, 2006 at 09:17:27 AM EST
    Sailor-
    I somehow doubt you are sincerely curious, I think it is more likely just a continuation of the swiftboating.
    Curiosity is a important human instinct. It has always struck me as odd that the wingnuts are missing the gene or chemisrty that evokes the instinct. Curiosity had never, unless by some freak accident 'killed the cat' but what it does kill, in the wingnut case, all the uncontested lies reverberating in the wingnut echo chamber. I guess the lapdog (fear) instinct trumps curiosity here, as the slightest bit of honest curiosity would bring down the current dictatorial regime. ...'Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain.....'

    Re: NBC Goes For the Jugular, Misses (none / 0) (#14)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Jan 28, 2006 at 09:54:29 AM EST
    Doesn't it seem a lot of ppj's post are like this: I'm not a republican but I'm against torture but The but is always followed by his republican right wing talking poiij's nts.

    Re: NBC Goes For the Jugular, Misses (none / 0) (#15)
    by jimakaPPJ on Sat Jan 28, 2006 at 10:08:03 AM EST
    sailor - You doubt me? Now, that is curious. ;-) Now let us explore your off subject comment. If I was "swiftboating," also known as "borking," I wouldn't be "curious," I would be "noting." Hope the logic class helps. squeaky - I am curious to see if sailor will be up soon to tell you to get back on topic. But really.... seeing as how you claim to be so curious, aren't you curious about those two worker types hiring a private detective all on their own? I mean, who was going to pay him? Curious minds want to know. bigunit12 - Jealousy will get you no place.

    Re: NBC Goes For the Jugular, Misses (none / 0) (#16)
    by Dadler on Sat Jan 28, 2006 at 10:09:50 AM EST
    I love Arianna, but she does, by virtue of her quite profound political change of heart, have a lot of material to use against her from her Newt daze. It doesn't really amount to much in the end, but the stuff is there for the picking.

    Re: NBC Goes For the Jugular, Misses (none / 0) (#17)
    by squeaky on Sat Jan 28, 2006 at 10:42:29 AM EST
    ppj-I have read both sides of the story and have to say that it was/is a clear case of changing the subject, instead of answering the question at hand. Whether or not Arianna hired a snoop had nothing to do with the debate. Instead of engaging, they flung old dirt, unsubstianted, as no proof has been put on the table. I consider that deeply dishonest behavoir by Russert and NBC more be-fitting a cornered rat.

    Re: NBC Goes For the Jugular, Misses (none / 0) (#18)
    by Che's Lounge on Sat Jan 28, 2006 at 11:03:47 AM EST
    Jim, Bigunit's not jealous. He's just, well, curious.

    Re: NBC Goes For the Jugular, Misses (none / 0) (#19)
    by jimakaPPJ on Sat Jan 28, 2006 at 02:22:07 PM EST
    Che - Well, I'm curious as to why he doesn't ask a question. Who knows? He might get a curious answer. Squeaky - Focus on my comment that I don't care if both sides beat on each other till their arms fall off. But post's position is that NBC went after her using a 12 year old false claim. After reading it, I find it curious that she claims to have never hired one, but she doesn't claim to not have knowldge of one being hired either at her direction, or by someone on staff that she had pre-knowledge of. No big deal. Just curious, that's all. Dadler - Are you saying that she has been converted her past sins don't count......? Well, maybe in heaven..

    Re: NBC Goes For the Jugular, Misses (none / 0) (#20)
    by jimakaPPJ on Sat Jan 28, 2006 at 02:29:12 PM EST
    squeaky - BTW - Whether or not NBC's weapon of choice is true or not is the very essence of the debate. If it is not true, then NBC'ers are naughty nasty people. If it is true, Arianna has been caught out.

    Re: NBC Goes For the Jugular, Misses (none / 0) (#21)
    by Dadler on Sat Jan 28, 2006 at 02:46:08 PM EST
    Jim, I'm saying I don't think they amount to much. That's it. The nanny and housekeeper-gate kind of stories really don't grab me. Her ex-husband came out of the closet, she became a progressive, topping those is going to take some magic.

    Re: NBC Goes For the Jugular, Misses (none / 0) (#22)
    by jimakaPPJ on Sat Jan 28, 2006 at 08:21:00 PM EST
    Dadler - This isn't "houseeeper-Nanny" stuff. Why we have an attempt to spy.... Oh, the humanity of it all.

    Re: NBC Goes For the Jugular, Misses (none / 0) (#23)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sun Jan 29, 2006 at 08:46:16 AM EST
    PPJ, as usual, believes any allegations about someone not on the Bush side, while overlooking the fact that the main accuser, Ed Rollins, isn't exactly a sterling character by Ed's own admission. All we have at this point are allegations, not even a phone number or name of any PI's she would've or had used in her 'attempt to spy' on Ms. Orth. This isn't "houseeeper-Nanny" stuff. Yeah, like Rollins, they are credible witnesses because?

    Re: NBC Goes For the Jugular, Misses (none / 0) (#24)
    by Dadler on Sun Jan 29, 2006 at 10:09:43 AM EST
    Jim, Hiring a private detective to find out if someone has an illegal nanny is, indeed, housekeeper nanny stuff. If it occurred at all. And not illegal, btw, unless the private dick broke the law. Does it make it nice or right? Nope. Does it make it worthy of this attention how many years later? Nope.

    Re: NBC Goes For the Jugular, Misses (none / 0) (#25)
    by jimakaPPJ on Sun Jan 29, 2006 at 10:52:29 AM EST
    Dadler - Are you saying an illegal maid is legal? Seems like the law has been broken. And the fact that Rollins isn't a lovable huggy bunny is of no importance. Arianna's comments don't put the issue to rest.

    Re: NBC Goes For the Jugular, Misses (none / 0) (#26)
    by ltgesq on Sun Jan 29, 2006 at 10:58:15 AM EST
    you guys just don't get it. Russell's people are rehashing an old rumor spread without basis by Ed rollins that huffington hired a private investigator to snoop on Russert's wife because she was going to write about huffington in Vanity Fair. NO evidence that this ever happened, out side of Rollins claim. The issue of whether campaign people at huffington's husband's campaign hired a PI to investigate Feinstein's maid status are both irrelavent and hardly remarkable. Its called oposition research, and they all do it. Ms.Huffinton said she never hired a detective -- and why would she? Didn't her husband have a campaign director? Wouldn't the campaign have paid the check on that? It is just an attempt to make Ms. huffinton's accurate criticism of Russert's hypocricy into some sort of a personal fight that can be easily dismissed. Anyone on this list have a college student with his own sports show getting plugged by a national television host? I thought not.

    Re: NBC Goes For the Jugular, Misses (none / 0) (#27)
    by Dadler on Sun Jan 29, 2006 at 10:59:29 AM EST
    Jim, Hiring an illegal is illegal, yes. Does this alleged case, how many years later, merit this kind of attention? Nope. BTW, a disclaimer: My family took in a illegal Salvadoran young woman and her baby in the 80's. They lived with us for a couple of years, then moved back home when the troubles in her home village had abated. So I'm a lawbreaker at heart;-)