TV News LIES

Lawyers with the Department of Justice on Thursday agreed to unilaterally withdraw a series of subpoenas that sought to compel New York Times journalists to testify about their sources and to access their phone records. 

U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian said he would quash the subpoenas if the Department of Justice refused to withdraw them. 

"It's a matter of basic compliance with the law," Judge Subramanian said.

Attorneys for the New York Times were in court Thursday to fight a series of grand jury subpoenas they allege were an attempt to retaliate against and intimidate reporters whose work angered President Donald Trump. 

Lawyers for the newspaper had asked the judge to quash the subpoenas, which sought to compel the journalists to testify about their sources, as well as access the phone records of the reporters and some of their family members. 

Sean Buckley, the chief counsel to the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, said that prosecutors would return to the judge if they decide to seek new subpoenas in the future. 

"Upon further consideration, the government is prepared unilaterally to withdraw the subpoenas at this time," he said.

More...

President Donald Trump called for ABC and NBC’s licenses to be revoked over not airing his July 16 primetime address focused on election security.

Toward the end of his nearly 26-minute long address from the White House, Trump criticized the networks for not broadcasting it live, alleging that the decision was made “because of the fact that they don’t like the topic.”  

“Fraud like this should mean a revocation of their licenses,” he said. “They use our public, multi-billion dollar in value, airways for absolutely no money. They pay nothing. All we want is honesty in our elections and honesty in reporting.”

The networks did air his speech on their respective streaming platforms and provide coverage of his statements afterward.

More...

The New York Times said on Saturday, July 11, that the U.S. Department of Justice had ordered several of its journalists to testify before a federal grand jury after they reported on security concerns involving President Donald Trump's new Qatari-donated Air Force One.

The media organization said subpoenas were issued on Friday, July 10, asking that the journalists appear before a grand jury on July 15 to testify "in regard to an alleged violation of federal criminal law."

The subpoenas were issued by Jay Clayton, the U.S. attorney in Manhattan, and in some cases delivered to reporters' homes by federal agents, the news outlet reported. It described the move as "an extraordinary escalation in President Trump's efAccessforts to threaten and intimidate independent news organizations."

In a statement to Reuters, a Department of Justice spokesperson did not confirm or deny the subpoenas but said the administration was not targeting reporters but was concerned about people leaking classified information. The White House referred all questions to the Justice Department.

More...

A group of prominent conservative organizations has petitioned the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to deny license renewal requests from the eight local television stations owned and operated by ABC, accusing the network of political, racial and sexual bias and supporting the Chinese communist party.

The petitions come after the commission, led by Trump appointee Brendan Carr, took the nearly unprecedented step of requiring the network, a frequent recipient of attacks from Donald Trump, to apply several years early to maintain its ability to broadcast in markets around the country.

While Carr has said the early license renewal process stems from an FCC investigation into ABC’s diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts, petitioners are free to include a variety of grievances against the network and concerns about whether ABC is operating in the public interest.

More...

Before-and-after photos of a Palestinian journalist released from Israeli detention have sparked anger on social media and calls for accountability from journalists and rights organisations, describing the Israeli prison system as a “tool for both the slow and direct killing” of detainees.

Mujahed Bani Mufleh shared a photograph of his shocking physical state after eight months in Israeli prison on his Instagram page on Wednesday.

The 36-year-old was held in administrative detention - imprisonment without charge or trial - and eventually released from Israeli prison in January. He found out just two days later that he had suffered a severe brain hemorrhage due to prison conditions and medical neglect. He required emergency surgeries and continues to face a long road to recovery, the Palestinian Prisoners’ Society said in a statement.

The father of three from the town of Beita, in Nablus in the occupied West Bank, described the nights in Israeli prison in a statement accompanying the images: “You lie awake between physical suffering and heavy thoughts, counting the hours and waiting for dawn as if it were salvation.”

More...

Gene Shalit, the legendary film critic best known for his long run on NBC's "Today" show, died Friday, June 12, NBC reported. He was 100 years old.

Shalit "passed away peacefully today after 100 years of an amazing life," his family told NBC News in a statement.

Shalit became a beloved figure in American media thanks to his distinctive, pun-filled takes on American film − and his on-air persona, including his handlebar mustache, glasses and bow ties.

His career started in print journalism, at publications like Ladies' Home Journal and The New York Times. He joined the "Today" show as a contributor in 1970 before becoming a full-time book and film critic three years later − and remained in the role for another 37 years.

More...