Tag Archive for: ProPublica

EXCLUSIVE: Emails, Phone Logs Reveal How Botched Pete Hegseth West Point Story Imploded

After a West Point spokesperson falsely claimed that Pete Hegseth had not even applied to the institution, much less been accepted, journalism outfit ProPublica reached out to Hegseth’s lawyer, asserting that the Secretary of Defense nominee had lied and gave him a one hour deadline to respond.

Hegseth posted on Wednesday morning a photo of his acceptance to West Point and said ProPublica was planning on posting “a knowingly false report” that he was not accepted to the school in 1999. ProPublica editor Jesse Eisinger then responded with a Twitter thread, explaining that the outlet had done “real journalism” and determined something they heard was not true and that they would not be posting their story. Eisinger wrote that journalists must give the subject of a story a “fair chance to respond to all of the salient facts in the story.”

However, emails and apparent phone transcripts obtained by the Caller reveal that ProPublica themselves did not do that in pursuit of the Hegseth story.

Justin Elliott, a reporter for ProPublica, reached out to Hegseth’s lawyer, Timothy Parlatore, on Tuesday about the story. Elliot told Parlatore he had an “urgent request” for comment and gave him just one hour to respond, an email obtained by the Caller shows. 

“I’m reaching out with an urgent request for comment for your client Pete Hegseth. We’re moving quickly so please let me know if you or he would like to comment as soon as possible. Our deadline is in one hour,” the email reads.

Emails between Timothy Parlatore and Justin Elliot obtained by the Daily Caller.

Elliott explains that a West Point spokesperson told ProPublica Hegseth never even applied to the school. He then asserts, seemingly based on West Point’s statement at face value, that Hegseth was lying.

“Why did Mr. Hegseth say he got in to West Point when that is not true?” Elliott wrote. “How can Mr. Hegseth be Secretary of Defense given that he has made false statements about getting in to the military’s most prestigious academy?” he continued. “Is there anything else we should know?”

Elliot’s assertion that Hegseth lied appears to have been based on a single email and phone call with West Point spokespeople. Eisenger tweeted that one West Point spokesman told them over email that Hegseth hadn’t even applied to the school, citing the Admissions Office. ProPublica then called West Point and a second spokesperson confirmed the falsehood, saying “Absolutely. 100%.”

The Daily Caller reached out to ProPublica to ask them a series of questions, including whether or not they would require more evidence than just two statements to accuse a cabinet secretary nominee of lying, and if they did any additional work to verify the story before accusing Hegseth of lying.

The Caller reached out to ProPublica nearly 6 hours before publication.

“Reporters do their job by asking tough questions to people in power, which is exactly what happened here. Responsible news organizations only publish what they can verify, which is why we didn’t publish a story once Mr. Hegseth provided documentation that corrected the statements from West Point,” a ProPublica spokesperson told the Caller.

The Caller followed up to ask if ProPublica did any additional work to verify their story beyond taking two Army public information officers at face value. The spokesperson said the first statement “speaks for itself” and they have no further comment.

The Caller also reached out to Elliot directly, but the email bounced back stating he was “out of office.”

After sending the email, Elliott called Parlatore to ask him about the story, according to a transcript of the call provided to the Daily Caller. The transcript shows that the reporter repeated that he was on a one hour deadline and was looking for a comment from him or Hegseth.

Once Elliott explained who he was, Parlatore continued to ask the reporter how he obtained the information, alleging that the school could potentially be breaking federal privacy laws, according to the transcript.

While Eisenger claimed on Twitter that Parlatore “didn’t deny the facts” during his phone call, the transcript obtained by the Caller indicates otherwise. In the transcript, Parlatore says West Point was providing ProPublica “false information,” and Elliot replies that he would use that denial on the record.

Hegseth’s team eventually provided ProPublica with his acceptance letter, which the outlet then took to West Point. At that point, the West Point public affairs office apologized and admitted that, per a new records check, Hegseth had applied and been accepted to the school.

The Daily Caller reached out to West Point to ask how the false information was relayed, if there was any further communication between the school and ProPublica, and if the officials who shared the false information were being disciplined. They did not answer the questions and refused to accept a phone call to discuss the story further.

Hegseth has been the target of a number of negative media stories since he was announced as President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Pentagon. Hegseth has denied most of the claims, and after a rocky period, appears to have garnered the support of most Senate Republicans.

Just this week, dozens of veterans who served directly with Hegseth in the military signed a letter supporting his nomination.

AUTHOR

Reagan Reese

White House correspondent. Follow Reagan on Twitter.

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EDITORS NOTE: This Daily Caller column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.


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Are US banks enabling manipulation on a vast scale?

Geo Intelligence states, “Top economists, financial experts and bankers say that the big banks are too large … and their very size is threatening the [US] economy.”

On June 27, 2013 Representatives Alan Grayson (D-FL), Raul Grijalva (D-AZ), John Conyers (D-MI) and Keith Ellison (D-MN) sent a letter to Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke. The letter states, “We write in regards to the expansion of large banks into what had traditionally been non-financial commercial spheres. Specifically, we are concerned about how large banks have recently expanded their businesses into such fields as electric power production, oil refining and distribution, owning and operating of public assets such as ports and airports, and even uranium mining. [Isn’t that a national security issue?]”

Grayson, et. al. note, “Here are a few examples. Morgan Stanley imported 4 million barrels of oil and petroleum products into the United States in June, 2012. Goldman Sachs stores aluminum in vast warehouses in Detroit as well as serving as a commodities derivatives dealer. This ‘bank’ is also expanding into the ownership and operation of airports, toll roads, and ports. JP Morgan markets electricity in California.”

Grayson, et. al write, “According to legal scholar Saule Omarova, over the past five years, there has been a ‘quiet transformation of U.S. financial holding companies.’ These financial services companies have become global merchants that seek to extract rent from any commercial or financial business activity within their reach.  They have used legal authority in Graham-Leach-Bliley to subvert the ‘foundational principle of separation of banking from commerce’. This shift has many consequences for our economy, and for bank regulators. We wonder how the Federal Reserve is responding to this shift.” Read more.

ProPublica is tracking where taxpayer money has gone in the ongoing bailout of the financial system. The ProPublica database accounts for both the broader $700 billion stimulus bill and the separate bailout of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. According to their data: 927 banks received  $606B of which $366B has been returned. The banks revenues are $116B showing a total net to date of a minus $124B.

Following is the ProPublica list of Florida banks/mortgage servicers that were bailed out (those in RED failed to repay the government and resulted in a loss):

1st United Bancorp  
Alarion Financial Services  
Allstate Mortgage Loans & Investments, Inc.  
Bank United  
Bayview Loan Servicing, LLC  
Biscayne Bancshares, Inc.  
Capital International Financial, Inc.  
CenterState Banks of Florida, Inc.  
Central Florida Educators Federal Credit Union  
Coastal Banking Company  
Community Bancshares Of Mississippi, Inc. (Community Holding Company Of Florida, Inc.)  
Community Credit Union of Florida  
First Community Bank Corp of America  
First Federal Bank of Florida  
First Southern Bancorp  
Florida Bank Group, Inc.  
Florida Business BancGroup  
Florida Housing Finance Corporation  
FPB Bancorp  
GulfSouth Private Bank  
Gulfstream Bancshares  
Highlands Independent Bancshares  
Iberiabank  
IBM Southeast Employees’ Federal Credit Union  
Marine Bank & Trust Company  
Naples Bancorp  
Ocwen Financial Corporation, Inc.  
Pinnacle Bank Holding Company  
Premier Bank Holding Company  
Q Lending, Inc.  
Quantum Servicing Corporation  
Regent Bancorp  
Seacoast Banking Corp  
Seaside National Bank & Trust  
TIB Financial Corp  
U.S. Century Bank

 

For the full list of banking institution in the United States that received taxpayer bailouts click here.