Andrew Breitbart Calls James O’Keefe CNN Caper ‘Patently Gross and Offensive’

by Tommy Christopher | 11:16 pm, October 1st, 2010

» 36 comments

Conservative reaction to James O’Keefe‘s alleged plot to sexually humiliate CNN correspondent Abbie Boudreau has been almost uniformly harsh. Until now, aside from a few tangential tweets, O’Keefe mentor and benefactor Andrew Breitbart has been silent on the matter. Those waiting to take their cues from the influential conservative media figure can now let the pigeons loose, as Breitbart has released a statement in which he praises Boudreau, and calls O’Keefe’s plot “patently gross and offensive.”

The plot called for O’Keefe to lure Boudreau, under false pretenses, onto a boat “filled with sexually explicit props and then record the session. According to Boudreau, the “script” called for the prank to end with Boudreau in tears, begging to be let off of the boat.

Mediaite has obtained the following statement from Breitbart: (also available on Big Journalism)

I proudly stood behind James O’Keefe on his groundbreaking ACORN investigation. I also defended him when the media, including CNN — during a previous regime, “the Rick Sanchez era” — falsely reported the Sen. Mary Landrieu story as a “wiretapping” plot gone wrong.

In all these cases the left-leaning media exposed its obvious bias against James because of his contrarian point of view and because the targets of his investigations are protected institutions of the Democrat Media Complex.

However, in my dealings with Ms. Boudreau, she and her producer, Scott Zamost, conducted themselves professionally, and I believe James owes them a candid and public explanation.

From what I’ve read about this script, though not executed, it is patently gross and offensive. It’s not his detractors to whom he also owes this public airing. It’s to his legion of supporters.

Breitbart’s critics will, no doubt, focus on the fact that the statement leaves open the possibility that there is an “explanation” for these actions, but given his extreme suspicion of mainstream news outlets like CNN, this is a significant repudiation. Others, myself included, will take issue with his characterization of O’Keefe’s past work. All in all, though, Breitbart shows laudable decency in coming to Boudreau’s defense, and in condemning O’Keefe’s plan.

It is important to note, however, that the qualifier “though not executed” should not be construed as any sort of mitigation. According to Boudreau’s reporting, the only reason it was not executed was because she was warned of the plot, and she told Media Matters that, even then, O’Keefe still tried to lure her onto the boat.

Finally, as an interesting side-note, Breitbart’s statement may well be the first example of a past-tense reference to “the Rick Sanchez era.”

Abbie Boudrau, ACORN, Andrew Breitbart, Ann Coulter, Brent Bozell, CNN, greg gutfeld, James O'Keefe, MRC, Newsbusters, Redeye, rick sanchez

dahni

O’Keefe was correct on ACORN. Way to move down, O’Keefe. I think after your last couple of activities you are ready for full time with either the Washington Post or the NYT.
Rogue-Comic

Tommy, take a look at your punctuation and then delete this comment.
roxsteady

Pot meet kettle. Oh, and ACORN was cleared of ALL CHARGES! You fox newsbots probably hadn’t heard. Breitbart and O’Keefe are 2 of a kind which explains the 2 comments posted here. I told you he was dead. No one gives a damn about Breitbart anymore because he has proven to be a fraud!
http://gordonbloyershow.com gordonbloyershow

Box of Rox, why do you show how stupid you are all the time. ACORN cleared, my ass. You are the dead one, nobody has ever given a damn about YOU. Go back to your street job.
Rogue-Comic

roxsteady said:
You fox newsbots probably hadn’t heard. Breitbart and O’Keefe are 2 of a kind which explains the 2 comments posted here. I told you he was dead. No one gives a damn about Breitbart anymore because he has proven to be a fraud!

So quick to judge . . .

First, Christopher obviously “gives a damn” about Brietbart and O’Keefe, hence the blog we are commenting on.

Second, Breitbart and Rick Sanchez, deserve their current disreputable reputations. O’ Keefe, on the other hand, needs to be put in a cage with Brock Lesnar.
Fox News: We proudly pander to Teabaggers

Breitbart is every bit as sleazy as O’Keefe in his methods. His rebuke of O’Keefe is self-serving and meaningless.

As for the “supporters” of O’Keefe, he doesn’t owe them a apology. They live in the same cesspool as he does. And while they might be disappointed he can’t continue his unethical exploits, they know someone else will come along to fill his shoes.
Greg

Oh how our children grow
Past our ability
to simply show
an abject fealty
to what is right….

despite our real intent
which is to dismantle
the leftist mantle of treat folks rright
because most ain’t white…
and history will swing
towards the other wing
Yoda002

gordonbloyershow said:
Box of Rox, why do you show how stupid you are all the time. ACORN cleared, my ass. You are the dead one, nobody has ever given a damn about YOU. Go back to your street job.

Yes, Acorn was cleared of all charges. It was just another fake Faux propaganda piece that you seem to think is true. Bloyers, you need to wake up, they’re just leading you down the penrose path and you’re just eating it up like it’s yesterdays breakfast.
http://www.facebook.com/people/David-Mangan/100000213524770 David Mangan

“I think after your last couple of activities you are ready for full time with either the Washington Post or the NYT” O’Keefe still has a twinge of idealism and sincereity left, I believe, and therefore needs more seasoning in cynical dishonest ineptitude or outright distortion of facts to descend to the Ezra Klein or Greg Sargent or Dana Priest level. Those are JournoList-level moral sewage feeders who are veritable Typhoid Mary’s of spreading a fatal political fever among the snobbish Left Coasters on the Eastern Shore. Eugene Robinson and Bob Herbert are the ultimate goal, but O’Keefe is trending in a slo-mo death spiral toward a Pulitzer-level corrupt ethos—the prerequisite for even getting in the door of those two penal institutions.
MediaWhore

Quite a pair of balls Breitbart has. Says nothing for three days while all the “journalists” on his sites quietly sit in the corner with their thumbs in their asses ignoring O’Keefe, and then he dumps it on a Friday night.

For a guy that makes a living off crying about the “mainstream media” and all their supposed sins, he sure as fuck can’t live up to his own standard.

Douchebag’s reputation keeps sinking with every O’Keefe fuckup. Keep up the good work assholes!

Big Journalism indeed. Big Stupid Fucking Hypocritical Journalism from Breitbart and his dumbass crew.
sarainitaly

That was a good statement.
shootfromthehip

MediaWhore, what Breietbart and O’Keefe do is not “journalism” at all.

It is hackery of the highest order.

Only fools (read: tea tards and Fox) take the shit those two shovel out as “news.”

They have both been proven liars over and over again.

Agree with your post.
Arnold

shootfromthehip said:
MediaWhore, what Breietbart and O’Keefe do is not “journalism” at all. It is hackery of the highest order. Only fools (read: tea tards and Fox) take the shit those two shovel out as “news.” They have both been proven liars over and over again. Agree with your post.

This is a fool .
Pablo

roxsteady said:
Pot meet kettle. Oh, and ACORN was cleared of ALL CHARGES!

What charges? There were no charges. There wasn’t really any prostitution, which maybe you didn’t know that, and you can’t aid and abet a story. How could they be cleared of charges that never existed? And why is it ACORN doesn’t exist anymore?
jooce81

Rogue-Comic said:
O’ Keefe, on the other hand, needs to be put in a cage with Brock Lesnar.

I’d pay 40 bucks to watch Brock destroy that douche
Pablo

jooce81 said:
I’d pay 40 bucks to watch Brock destroy that douche

I got to watch this for free.
CosmosDan

Pablo said:
What charges? There were no charges. There wasn’t really any prostitution, which maybe you didn’t know that, and you can’t aid and abet a story. How could they be cleared of charges that never existed? And why is it ACORN doesn’t exist anymore?

Because the pussies in DC pulled their funding. It sounds like ACORN has just renamed themselves and started over. The ACORN tapes were edited crap that Brietbart eventually apologized for at least in part, and OKeefe did getting charged for his actions in LA.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/26/AR2010012604145.html

I think Breitbart is getting smarter in his approach to the game but this statement is less than sincere.
CosmosDan

Pablo said:
I got to watch this for free.

which includes this
An internal ACORN investigation concluded that ACORN had poor management practices that contributed to unprofessional actions by a number of its low-level employees. On March 1, 2010, the district attorney for Brooklyn concluded that there was no criminal wrongdoing by the ACORN staff in the Brooklyn ACORN office. An investigation report by California Attorney General Jerry Brown released on April 1, 2010 found the videos from Los Angeles, San Diego, and San Bernardino to be “severely edited” and did not find evidence of criminal conduct on the part of ACORN employees, with the Attorney General stating “things are not always as partisan zealots portray them through highly selective editing of reality
so ACORN had some real problems and hopefully the shake up will be a lesson learned. That doesn’t change the reality that the videos were intentionally and dishonestly edited. In another thread someone posted a long list of all the praising Fox and others did of OKeefe for his amazing journalism on the ACORN story. He’s great and wonderful, even when they likely knew it was BS. Now they’re having to find ways to criticize him for this latest trick without admitting they were complicit in his previous dishonesty.
The_Reasonable_Lib

gordonbloyershow said:
Box of Rox, why do you show how stupid you are all the time. ACORN cleared, my ass. You are the dead one, nobody has ever given a damn about YOU. Go back to your street job.

Kind of like nobody gives a damn about you? You’re just like O’Keefe; an annoying liar. Maybe I should vote with my kind, Gordon?
right-is-wrong

CosmosDan said:
which includes this
An internal ACORN investigation concluded that ACORN had poor management practices that contributed to unprofessional actions by a number of its low-level employees. On March 1, 2010, the district attorney for Brooklyn concluded that there was no criminal wrongdoing by the ACORN staff in the Brooklyn ACORN office. An investigation report by California Attorney General Jerry Brown released on April 1, 2010 found the videos from Los Angeles, San Diego, and San Bernardino to be “severely edited” and did not find evidence of criminal conduct on the part of ACORN employees, with the Attorney General stating “things are not always as partisan zealots portray them through highly selective editing of reality
so ACORN had some real problems and hopefully the shake up will be a lesson learned. That doesn’t change the reality that the videos were intentionally and dishonestly edited. In another thread someone posted a long list of all the praising Fox and others did of OKeefe for his amazing journalism on the ACORN story. He’s great and wonderful, even when they likely knew it was BS. Now they’re having to find ways to criticize him for this latest trick without admitting they were complicit in his previous dishonesty.

Sorry Dan, too much reading. Makes their brains hurt.

Short misleading headlines and buzzwordz.
CosmosDan

right-is-wrong said:
Sorry Dan, too much reading. Makes their brains hurt.

Short misleading headlines and buzzwordz.

I just followed the link provided because I wanted to be informed.
right-is-wrong

CosmosDan said:
I just followed the link provided because I wanted to be informed.

right there with you
surprising the conclusions that can be jumped to without reading them
I follow the links, like the crap that guy spewed on Obama being a kenyan whatever.

Sure does make him a weird guy to talk about green energy during an oil spill, huh?
Pablo

CosmosDan said:
On March 1, 2010, the district attorney for Brooklyn concluded that there was no criminal wrongdoing by the ACORN staff in the Brooklyn ACORN office

Right, because there was no actual prostitution or tax fraud. That doesn’t change what happened in ACORN’s offices.

An investigation report by California Attorney General Jerry Brown released on April 1, 2010 found the videos from Los Angeles, San Diego, and San Bernardino to be “severely edited”…

Which the utterly impartial Jerry Brown figured out by watching the unedited video and reading the complete transcripts, which Breitbart released. Of course the raw footage was edited in the final product. That’s why they call it raw footage.

If there was nothing wrong, why did ACORN fire so many people and keep them fired?
timcajun

Breitbart is a fine, moral, honest, never bias person, and would not attack anyone on a half truth! O’Keefe is an honest report, that can’t be tied down with a B and E or fraud charge. He has the Lords work to do, or Fox’s, or Beck’s or somebody!
http://www.facebook.com/people/Karen-Ono/100000158355780 Karen Ono

I can’t believe how many people do NOT KNOW that the whole ACORN thing was a scam and debunked long ago!

Amazing!

There are still people who believe the ‘version’ shown on FOX? Really?

I guess that’s what happens when people only watch FOX for their ‘information’ … they are isolated from the truth, and continue to believe a story long after it’s been debunked!
CosmosDan

Pablo said:
Right, because there was no actual prostitution or tax fraud. That doesn’t change what happened in ACORN’s offices.

Which the utterly impartial Jerry Brown figured out by watching the unedited video and reading the complete transcripts, which Breitbart released. Of course the raw footage was edited in the final product. That’s why they call it raw footage.

If there was nothing wrong, why did ACORN fire so many people and keep them fired?

I didn’t say there was nothing wrong. It’s not all one way or the other. The finding was that ACORN was doing a bad job of managing some of it’s employees. Not great but not nearly the major corruption that Fox talked about day after day after day and applauded the dishonest OKeefe for. The real problems of ACORN does not excuse the dishonesty of OKeefe or those who praised him at the time and were likely aware of the lies.
It’s pretty irresponsible fr a major network to broadcast edited videos repeatedly. It was intentional. A politically motivated follow up to the ACORN voter fraud BS.
notsofast

LIBS suck! that’s sums up everything.
betweentwoevils

Left or Right, patently false hit reporting is a plight on our democracy. The ACORN piece was not what many think it was.

http://www.bradblog.com/?p=8101
CosmosDan

notsofast said:
LIBS suck! that’s sums up everything.

That does seem to be the extent of your contribution.
CosmosDan

betweentwoevils said:
Left or Right, patently false hit reporting is a plight on our democracy. The ACORN piece was not what many think it was.

http://www.bradblog.com/?p=8101

Isn’t it sometimes mind boggling how partisan thinking can twist the ability to reason. When one side does something scummy it’s somehow justified and when the other does the same thing it’s a horrible moral crime indicative of the entire group. What nonsense. There are good public servants and self serving scumbags on both sides of the isle.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4fHfdSi-GDo Here’s something by Ron Paul that makes you think.
Magic Dog

The ACORN video and “investigation” were a wingnut fraud, just like Breitbart and his Wingnut Pervert Wonder Boy.
Magic Dog

One thing is amusing, though. Nice to watch the wingnuts throw each other under the bus.
Arkansas Steve

On another matter: MEDIAITE, what the hell is wrong with you?
The best interview in a decade was last night as Greta Van Susteren demolished & humiliated Gloria Allred.
You have NO DECENT EXCUSE WHATSOEVER for not running this story.
Are you incompetent or in bed with Gloria?
Rogue-Comic

Okay then:

The plot called for O’Keefe to lure Boudreau, under false pretenses, onto a boat “filled with sexually explicit props and then record the session.

What’s missing at the end of this sentence?

I’ll “give you a hint.”
murf

Tommy , your detailed over- analysis of Breitbart’s statement is amazing. What a shallow, narrow , juevnile mind you have.

PS. Rick Sanchez has competition -Tommy

.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Helen-Nordo/100000884291530 Helen Nordo

This entire matter smells of “set up” by CNN who is desperate to regain their status of being a newsworthy organization. I watched the show this evening & I started to smell a rat when this one woman,”supposedly” ran out of the house with a smudge of dirt on her face (hinting she might have been attacked or prevented from leaving, ) there is no video of the woman only a statement from the reporter who, in my mind, is questionable. They have been trying to get something on Breitbart since he started these investigations, i.e. Acorn, which by now has changed its name & is operating elsewhere) & the Shirley Sherrod incident. I don’t believe any of this garbage. O”Keefe would never allow himself to be involved in such a ridiculous scheme especially since he got in so much trouble with taping Acorn (I think he’s a hero for that) but then there’s the backlash & I knew they would come after him when he pretended to be a telephone repairman, etc.(which was stupid but..hey, he’s young & they are more experienced. This is a “gotcha” production by CNN. The public will not swallow it, keep on picking on the conservatives..the republicans will win this November! I think it’s time for CNN to start accepting the fact that FOX is Number 1 & nothing you dig up or over dramatize will change it. Worry about your ratings, everytime you pull a stunt like this, the public likes you less & less.