Stefanik: `biggest political corruption scandal in history’ — oops!
Discovering Post-Star columnist Don Metivier’s stories all over again
So many of us don’t know what to believe anymore and Rep. Elise Stefanik is partially to blame for that.
More so, depending on your news source.
Last June she said on Fox & Friends, that house Republicans had uncovered a scandal of epic proportions about President Joe Biden.
“This is the biggest political corruption scandal, not only in my lifetime, but I would say the past 100 years,” she said.
Considering Watergate and Trump’s more recent 91 felony indictments, that’s big-time corruption.
On Sept. 12, 2023, she went even further with this statement:
“Through the course of our Constitutional oversight duties, House Republicans have uncovered substantial evidence showing that Joe Biden has potentially committed multiple impeachable offenses. Since July, I have supported Speaker McCarthy’s consideration of an impeachment inquiry to ensure the House is at the apex of our Constitutional power, allowing us to uncover the facts on behalf of the American people. Transparency is a hallmark of our Constitutional Republic, and I am committed to ensuring that we uncover the truth about what I believe will prove to be the biggest political corruption and criminal scandal in our nation’s history.”
This evidence was at the heart of repeated social media posts about the “Biden crime family.”
“Most corrupt family to ever in in the White House! Impeach!” wrote Rep. Jim Banks of Indiana.
"The most corroborating evidence we have is the 1023 form from this highly credible confidential human source," Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio said last month on Fox News.
You may have missed this update last week, again depending on your news source.
An FBI informant was charged with falsely claiming that Joe Biden and Hunter Biden were paid $5 million each to protect executives in the Ukrainian energy company Burisma from prosecutors when Joe Biden was vice president.
Alexander Smirnov, 43, was charged with fabricating the entire story. Prosecutors said Smirnov had only routine business dealings with the company in 2017.
This was the source for the “biggest political corruption scandal” in our nation’s history, according to Elise Stefanik.
This is the type of disinformation that the Soviet Union perfected during the Cold War and continues to practice today mirrored perfectly by half the House of Representatives.
Consider this little factoid: Sean Hannity, the Fox News commentator, dedicated at least 85 segments to Smirnov’s claim, according to the Media Matters research group.
And according to media reporter Brian Stelter, the indictment of Smirnov was not even mentioned during any of Fox News’ prime-time shows Thursday. He noted a story was posted on its website.
A quick search of Elise Stefanik’s social media feed on X did not reveal a mea culpa about her accusations against the president, not even an “Oops!”
When Republicans were asked about it last week, they insisted this was not the heart of the impeachment inquiry at all.
So who do we blame for the polluting of our airwaves and news outlets?
Do we blame politicians like Elise Stefanik and Jim Jordan, or should Fox News take the blame for giving them a megaphone?
Tucker Carlson, once the poster boy for Fox News misinformation, was fired for perpetrating claims of voter fraud during the 2020 presidential election after Fox was fined nearly $750 million for its lies. He can be found online if you really want to find him.
He showed up in Moscow last week as the first person from the west to interview Vladimir Putin since Russia invaded Ukraine. For some reason, he neglected to ask about the invasion of Ukraine, the political assassinations of Putin’s opponents and the status of opposition leader Alexei Navalny in prison.
Later in the week, Carlson posted a segment where he claimed Russian food prices were far more reasonable than in the United States. He seemed to be saying life was better in Russia. Later in the week, Navalny was found dead in his cell in Siberia.
It was bad timing for Carlson, especially with Republicans recessing for two weeks on Friday without getting aid for Ukraine.
It left you wondering what side Carlson and the Republicans are on.
The New York Times reported that Egyptian journalist Emad El Din Adeeb asked Carlson in Dubai why he “did not talk about Navalny, about assassinations, about restrictions on opposition in the coming elections.”
“Every leader kills people,” Carlson said. “Some kill more than others. Leadership requires killing people.”
Elise Stefanik did not comment on that quote, nor on the death of Navalny.
The first is the 2022 documentary “Navalny” about the Russian opposition leader and how the KGB tried to points on him.
The second is “Winter on Fire: Ukraine’s fight for freedom” from 2015.
If you want an insight into the spirit of the Ukrainian people and how they stood up to Russia, watch that movie. One reader commented this week that Ukraine was of no strategic value to the United States.
I reminded him that being the defenders of the democracy still has some value. He should watch “Winter on Fire” too. It is still streaming on Netflix.
Heather Cox Richardson posted this excerpt on her Substack column after the death of Navalny was announced:
“In his 2022 documentary about Alexei Navalny, director Daniel Roher asked Navalny what message he would leave for the Russian people if he were killed. “Listen,” Navalny answered. “I’ve got something very obvious to tell you. You’re not allowed to give up. If they decide to kill me, it means that we are incredibly strong. We need to utilize this power to not give up, to remember we are a huge power that is being oppressed by these bad dudes. We don’t realize how strong we actually are.”
It’s why we all have to fight the disinformation from people like Elise Stefanik.
That what America is all about is doing the right thing, the righteous thing.
We need to remember what Navalny said, “We don’t realize how strong we actually are.”
Money for Trump
A reader tipped me off this week to another email plea from Rep. Elise Stefanik asking for money to help Donald Trump.
In previous fund-raisers like this, Stefanik actually kept most of the money for herself with only a small portion going to Trump.
The reader related that out of curiosity he clicked the link to donate.
“No surprise,” the reader wrote me “that most of it went to her own support, but on the screen after I selected a $100 donation it somehow changed to a $250 MONTHLY donation.”
The reader included a screenshot.
“How despicable,” he concluded.
Not quite the “biggest political corruption” in our country’s history, but Stefanik is still young.
Glens Falls in playoffs
The Section II boys basketball tournament seeding came out this week with 20-0 Glens Falls seeded second to the defending champion Catholic Central.
This is the first year there are five classifications in the tournament. With just 12 teams entered in Class A, second-seeded Glens Falls advanced into the quarterfinals for its first game on Saturday, Feb. 24 at Siena College at 2:45 p.m.
`We are the World’
If you are of a certain age, you are going to remember the “We are the World” phenomenon in 1984 as the greatest musical stars came together for one night in Los Angeles to record the song “We are the World” to raise money for hunger relief in Africa.
“The greatest night in pop” documentary is now playing on Netflix.
No matter what type of music you like, you will find someone that suits your taste from Paul Simon to Bruce Springsteen to Lionel Ritchie to Bob Dylan to Diana Ross and Billy Joel.
The only problem is that I can’t stop humming “We are the world” since watching it.
Another Metivier book
While rummaging around in the Chapman Museum last week, I discovered a bit of treasure.
About the time I started at The Post-Star, the newspaper was publishing a collection of columns penned by long time reporter and writer Don Metivier.
It is a wonderful depiction of Glens Falls and its surroundings communities in another era. What I did not realize was that Metivier published a second collection of columns in 1993.
“Metivier On” is now available in the book store at the Chapman Museum with 50 more columns by Metivier.
I can’t wait to get started.
I read The Tipping Point by Malcom Gladwell and it changed the way I perceive the acts of people in the public sphere. And with that, I ask myself, when was the tipping point for our elected representative Elise Stefanik. What was the moment that truth held little or no sway in what she says and how she responds to the events of our time. I still get her newsletter where she claims to be proud to serve , and this tripe.."House Republicans delivered accountability for the American people today when we impeached Alejandro Mayorkas for his willful and systematic refusal to comply with federal immigration laws and his breach of public trust. " Huh? Where is the high crime? This from someone who has given aid and comfort to the criminals who stormed the US capital to stop the lawful proceedings of congress. Hostages? When and if house Republicans deliver accountability for the American people it would be big news. If you look at what she's says regarding our courts and our system of justice, you might think she is doing advertisements for 1960s USSR television spots, such as "Republican House Conference Chair Elise Stefanik (NY) on Tuesday issued a 64-page letter to the New York Committee on Professional Standards demanding the disbarment of New York Attorney General Letitia James for allegedly violating “principles of fairness and impartiality” by engaging in “relentless lawfare” on social media against former President Donald Trump." From her news letter. She is now at the point that she can only point to stories where she is mentioned in Breitbart News, Daily Beast and Fox news. So when was the tipping point? And was it not just Ms. Setfanik, but when did the republican party ditch any connection to the truth and go all in on say what ever suits you to make a point that is not worth making...Was it the "grab 'em by the ..." moment? Was it the election was rigged fiasco? Hard to know, but the truth is now nothing more than an annoying footnote to one half of our political system. And we are in very dangerous and trying times. Sorry about the rant, but thanks for the story Ken, your newsletter helps...
America had no interest in getting involved while Nazism spread through Europe until Pearl Harbor was attacked. Putin will not stop at Ukraine. Putin is a ruthless dictator not a friend to America. We stop him now or we stop him on our own soil.