Fact-Checking the Washington Post: Is it Truthfully Reporting Trump’s ‘Lies’?
by John D. O’Connor
The following is an article originally published on Lacorte News. Read it HERE.
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The great 14th century Italian poet Dante Alighieri, in his classic Inferno described and classified the sins that the eternally damned perpetrate. One of the lowest circles in Dante’s Lower Hell – for those who pervert reason – is reserved for the hypocrites, who accuse others of deceit while guilty themselves. He describes the leaden coats they wear in the style of a monk’s habit:
… the outward appearance shines brightly and passes for holiness, but under that show lies the terrible weight of deceit. The hypocrites shuffle endlessly around their circle, shoulders slumping from their heavy robes, beautifully gilded on the exterior, representing the false appearance they portray…
The stark image comes to mind with the constant Washington Post “news” reports detailing the supposed thousands of lies told by President Trump in his first three years. So let’s fact-check The Washington Post’s “fact-check” for hypocrisy, that is, whether deceit lies behind its shiny, gilded exterior:
Post Claim of Trump Lie: The President stated that the Japan trade deal was a “$40 Billion” deal.
Post Evidence: The deal involved only $7 billion in agricultural products.
Our Fact-Check: The deal does involve $7 billion in agricultural products, but, according to Fortune magazine on October 7, 2019, it also included “$40 billion commitment to digital trade” by Japan. The Washington Post itself acknowledged as much in its reprinting of a Bloomberg article on the US-Japan Trade Talks on October 10, 2019 which describes the $40 billion digital trade commitment.
Verdict: Trump told the truth, while the Post concealed the truth in its report. 5 Gilded Robes for the Post.
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Post Claim of Trump Lie: Trump says grown men ranchers and farmers were crying as he announced the signing of the repeal of certain environmental regulations.
Post Evidence: A video of the ceremony showing no one crying.
Our Fact-Check: The video never shows the entire audience, and one of the few ranchers shown appears emotional.
Verdict: The President’s claim has not been disproven. 2 Gilded Robes for the Post, 1 for recklessness and 1 for pettiness.
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Post Claim of Trump Lie: That a border wall was being built (the Post claims 242 lies of this nature).
Post Evidence: By technical definition, the barrier is not a “wall” because it does not have a continuous base, but is rather a “bollard fence.”
Our Fact-Check: To also be technical, thirty-foot beams in this barrier are not true “bollards,” which are by definition short and stubby, and there is a continual, albeit thin, base at the bottom. But more substantively, before construction began, Trump had for some time called this a “steel-slat wall” and the Border Patrol calls it a “bollard-style steel wall.”
Verdict: Trump was essentially truthful. 2 Gilded Robes for the Post, 1 for hypertechincal quibbles, 1 for attempted junior high-level gotcha.
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Post Claim of Trump Lie: Trump’s claim he “built” 100 miles of border wall.
Post Evidence: Most of the barrier was a replacement of previous fencing.
Our Fact-Check: If one builds a house to replace an inferior, or even perhaps superior, structure, he is still building a house.
Verdict: The Post lied. 3 Gilded Robes.
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Post Claim of Trump Lie: Trump claims his July 25, 2019 phone call with President Zelensky of Ukraine was “perfect.”
Post Evidence: White House officials were “alarmed” by the call.
Our Fact-Check: This is an absurd claim over an opinion, not a fact. The President in charge of foreign policy and his opinion controls under the Constitution. To boot, Zelensky was extremely pleased with the call.
Verdict: False claim by the Post that an opinion with which the Post disagreed is a lie. 1 Gilded Robe.
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Post Claim of Trump Lie: Trump stated that the Ukrainian Prosecutor Viktor Shokin was caused to be fired in March 2016 by Joe Biden for investigating Burisma and his son Hunter.
Post Evidence: Ukrainian activist Daria Kaleniuk said Shokin “had not been investigating” Burisma, and, according to the Post, firing Shokin was a “diplomatic victory.”
Our Fact-Check: Kaleniuk is a Soros-funded Biden supporter and her opinion is suspect. She was correct that there was a stalled investigation, at least prior to December 2015. On December 9, 2015, the New York Times reported Shokin was now investigating Burisma. Soon, on February 4, 2016, Shokin raided the home of Burisma owner Mykola Zlochevsky. In response, Hunter Biden’s group lobbied the State Department, whose official Victoria Nuland then criticized Shokin. The United States policy was controlled by Secretary of State John Kerry, father of Hunter’s partner, and Joe Biden.
Verdict: The Post deliberately concealed the Times story, the Zlochevsky raid, the Hunter Biden lobbying, and the Joe Biden authorship of policy. 5 Gilded Robes for lying and deliberate concealment.
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Post Claim of Trump Lie: Trump said Hunter Biden visited China with his father in 2015 on Air Force Two, “walked away” with a “$1.5 billion investment for his fund” and “made millions.”
Post Evidence: Hunter Biden did not own any of the fund, BHR, and did not get his 10% equity until 2017. The capitalization of BHR was $3.4 million, so Hunter’s stake was worth only $340,000. He has not yet received compensation and there is no proof he landed $1.5 billion. According to the Post Biden had not yet been paid any compensation.
Our Fact-Check: Jonathan Li, head of BHR, a joint venture with the State-owned Bank of China, admitted he was raising $1.5 billion, very likely with the Bank’s support. Hunter Biden went on the Advisory Board twelve days after leaving China and the 2017 date of vesting conveniently coincided with his father’s departure from office, a fact that is inculpatory, not exculpatory. A 10% stake in a successful billion dollar-plus fund is extremely valuable, perhaps into the mid-eight figures. No one values an investment fund based on the value of its computers, furniture and other capital items. To say Biden made “millions” is an understatement.
Verdict: 3 Gilded Robes for intentionally deceiving the public by valuing an investment fund based on invested capital, and for defending clear corruption.
As with Dante’s hypocrites, the Post’s apparent virtuousness shines brightly as it criticizes Trump for dishonesty. But as a hypocrite, the Post must slump under the weight of the heavy-leaded linings of its coat, that is, its deceitful claims designed not only to defame the President but also to deceive its loyal readers.
We need not be hypocrites ourselves and assign the Post to eternal damnation. Dante has already done that for us.
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John D. O’Connor is the San Francisco attorney who represented W. Mark Felt during his revelation as Deep Throat in 2005. O’Connor is the author of the book, Postgate: How the Washington Post Betrayed Deep Throat, Covered Up Watergate, and Began Today’s Partisan Advocacy Journalism.