CBS Information correspondent Ed O’Keefe tried to defend the actions of Basic Mark Milley’s secret unauthorized contact together with his Chinese language counterpart by claiming that nationwide safety officers solid aspersions on President Trump’s psychological well being. He added Milley was embarrassed about strolling throughout Lafayette Sq. with Trump to an Episcopal church on June 1, 2020, the place the president allegedly held up an upside-down Bible.
The issue? It was faux information. The “upside-down” Bible cited by O’Keefe was really held right-side-up. A proven fact that O’Keefe ought to have identified.
Even PolitiFact, identified for its liberal bias, has labeled this as “Pants On Fireplace” faux information.
This false declare unfold on social media earlier this summer season, with out proof, and made it into a number of information stories and opinion items. However fact-checkers debunked it as early as June, and a evaluation of nonetheless pictures and video from that day present clearly that it’s inaccurate. Trump held the Bible right-side up all through the occasion.
We fee the assertion Pants on Fireplace!
Right here is O’Keefe enjoying protection lawyer for Milley whereas utilizing faux information to make his case on CBSN:
The brand new e book “Peril” stories Gen. Mark Milley known as China within the Trump administration’s final months to guarantee the U.S. wouldn’t assault. @edokeefe says Milley’s concern about Trump’s psychological state is “in keeping with what number of different nationwide safety officers…felt on the time” pic.twitter.com/Gi3s9yLulV
— CBS Information (@CBSNews) September 16, 2021
VLADIMIR DUTHIERS: So, Ed, I do know that most individuals are speaking about what Basic Milley’s alleged to have completed and that’s based on a e book that’s been written that’s upcoming by Bob Woodward and Robert Costa at The Washington Put up. However let’s speak about what — the rationale why Basic Milley could have reached out to his counterparts. That, to me, is extra vital than what I’m instructed by each senior army officer that I’ve spoken to within the final couple of days, who’ve mentioned that is what the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Employees can be doing. Let’s speak about why he was doing it. What was the rationale why Basic Milley needed to succeed in out to his counterparts in China primarily based on what he was seeing within the White Home?
And O’Keefe defended Milley by citing a faux information story.
ED O’KEEFE: Primarily based on the reporting of the e book it was involved that the President was slipping into some sort of psychological anguish and he may attempt to lash out, particularly at China, by launching some sort of an assault. So in October, earlier than the election final fall after which once more in early January, simply two days after the riot on the U.S. Capitol he reached out to his Chinese language counterpart and primarily mentioned, we aren’t planning to do that and if for some cause we’re, we’re going to let . That’s really normal working process in relation to interactions between nuclear armed powers….[It is?]
However once more, notable that Milley is both himself or by means of his individuals confirming this and letting them he know that it occurred. And we have to keep in mind that plenty of that is pushed by the truth that Milley was flanking the previous president when he walked throughout Lafayette Sq. final summer season, as they cleared the group there so he might go and maintain a Bible the other way up in a church throughout the road. Within the days after that, Milley made clear publicly and privately that he was fairly anguished about being concerned in that. He was taking steps to make sure that individuals understood the army would by no means be used towards American civilians because it’s not alleged to be.
When a serious information correspondent would not know that this “reality” has way back been debunked as “Pants On Fireplace,” maybe his pants are additionally on fireplace.
