By: David Codrea
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| Fortune managing editor Serwer speaks at a dinner honoring "Powerful Women" in New York City last May--no word on whether Katherine Eban will get another shot to be one.. Credits: Jemal Countess/Getty Images for Time Inc. (Examiner.com) - Scooping other media with an exclusive story, Dylan Byers of Politico today reported he had obtained a copy of a letter dated yesterday from Robert N. Driscoll, the attorney for ATF whistleblower John Dodson, written to Fortune managing editor Andrew Serwer, that demanded retraction of a report by Katherine Eban the letter calls “demonstrably false in many respects.” Dodson is the agent who first put a face to Fast and Furious whistleblowers when he was introduced to the world by Sharyl Attkisson of CBS News in February, 2011, and called attention to government-sanctioned gunwalking to Mexico. Eban’s report represented itself as “The Truth about the Fast and Furious Scandal,” a conclusion not shared by Dodson’s attorney, who wrote “The flaws were obvious to anyone who knew the facts of Fast and Furious, and are obvious to everyone who reads the article following the release of the IG report.” Also calling Eban’s account into question earlier was Sen. Chuck Grassley, who issued a July release advising “Eban Claims Rebutted by Fast and Furious Facts,” and Rep. Darrell Issa, whose press secretary responded in late June saying “Fortune’s story is a fantasy made up almost entirely from the accounts of individuals involved in the reckless tactics that took place in Operation Fast and Furious. It contains factual errors…” With the release of the Inspector General’s report, the House Oversight Committee called on Fortune to retract Eban’s article last week. This column presented an exclusive in August where the National Association of Federal Agents added its voice to those finding fault with the Fortune report, along with an assessment from citizen journalist Mike Vanderboegh of Sipsey Street Irregulars that “Eban may also have been provided information from John Dodson's personal ATF jacket -- a felony.” Gun Rights Examiner had warned Congressional investigators to watch for retaliatory smears early on in its Fast and Furious coverage, and relayed a report in July of last year that Privacy Act-protected documents had been leaked by the Justice Department in an attempt to discredit Dodson. Noting how the administration’s water carriers in the media were quick to embrace the Eban report with the intent to do just that to the Congressional gunwalking investigation, noting the credible concerns raised that Justice has been improperly communicating with supportive media, and noting how Justice Department public affairs honcho Tracy Schmaler (the same official who publicly dismissed a DC Bar complaint against her boss, Eric Holder, as “spurious” and “frivolous”), has also been caught feeding talking points to the Media Matters propaganda corps, Gun Rights Examiner included Eban on a “tweet” last Friday asking if she had also been getting information from Schmaler. In light of everything, it seemed a reasonable question. There has been no reply to date. ------------ If you're a regular Gun Rights Examiner reader and believe this column provides news and perspectives you won't find in the mainstream media, please subscribe to this column and help spread the word by sharing links, promoting it on social media like Facebook (David Codrea) and Twitter (@dcodrea), and telling your like-minded friends about it. And for more commentary, be sure to visit "The War on Guns: Notes from the Resistance." |
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