A spokesman for Speaker of the House John Boehner told The Daily Caller on Tuesday night that the New York Times published a false story alleging the speaker is trying to cut a deal with Attorney General Eric Holder over congressional subpoenas related to the Operation Fast and Furious scandal.
The Times reported late on Tuesday that Boehner had “opened direct negotiations with the Department of Justice aimed at resolving a dispute over subpoenaed information related to the botched gun-trafficking investigation dubbed Operation Fast and Furious.” The story ran under the headline “Boehner in talks with Justice Dept. on gun-running inquiry.”
Boehner spokesman Michael Steel, however, said the report is not true. He alleged that it illustrated a Holder-friendly bias among some establishment media outlets.
“This story shows how the mainstream media is ignoring this scandal and covering up for the Department of Justice,” Steel wrote in an email to TheDC.
“Staff for the speaker, other leadership offices, and Chairman Issa have been encouraging Attorney General Holder’s staff to comply for weeks or months to no avail, but there have certainly been no direct talks between the speaker and attorney general, and the department is still stonewalling.”
In a blog post attacking the Times, Boehner’s office wrote that neither the newspaper nor reporter Charlie Savage reached out to Boehner’s team before publishing the story. The post also noted that the speaker’s staff sent a statement to the Times after Savage’s allegations appeared online.
The story was posted at 6:51 p.m., according to a time stamp on the Times website.
WASHINGTON MERRY-GO-ROUND - Government Crimes and Corruption
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