Darrell Issa demands New York Times retraction - Jake Sherman and Keach Hagey
I’m shocked, shocked I say to see the NYT reporter did a screw job on an unpopular Republican from California.
Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) took the rare step of demanding a retraction of a New York Times story that alleged he helped his personal business interests in the course of his work as a top ranking Republican lawmaker from suburban San Diego.
Issa’s office blasted reporters with an email this morning alleging that the reporter, Eric Lichtblau, made three major mistakes in a piece about the California Republican: Issa claims that The Times asserted a building he bought went up in value, when it did not; they say Issa went easy on Toyota during congressional inquiries because a company he founded was a supplier to them, when in fact Issa says his Directed Electronics corporation does not have a relationship with Toyota; and Issa’s camp says the Times’ assertion that his charitable foundation reaped a windfall from a financial holding is false, as he actually lost money on the investment.
Furthermore, Issa’s communications director Frederick Hill wrote in a memo to reporters that Lichtblau’s reporting that Issa’s congressional and corporate offices overlook a golf course is untrue — and they included a video. Hill writes that Lichtblau, a Pulitzer Prize winner, declined to give Issa’s staff his editor’s contact information.