Monday’s Dallas Morning News Had a piece about Trevor Reed, the former Marine recently returned to the U.S. from a Russian prison as part of a prisoner swap, but instead of keeping the focus on Reed’s condition or the push to ensure the safe return of other Americans, reporter Emily Caldwell had Reed’s father Joey trash Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) by alleging he’s a Putin stooge.
Worse, Caldwell also quoted Jeremi Suri (a far-left Resistance libertarian) and Jonathan Franks (a far-left Resistance leftist), but did not mention Cruz’s fervent hatred. Emily, so much for disclosures and basic journalism.
In paragraph 21 Caldwell quoted Suri as an object expert. “a professor of history and public policy at the University of Texas at Austin and an expert on contemporary politics and foreign policy.”
Caldwell stated that Suri was the one who told Caldwell “it’s not uncommon for the State Department to ask lawmakers to avoid saying things publicly that could undermine any negotiations going on behind closed doors,” but it’s an entirely different matter for Cruz.
In the updated piece, she put on kid gloves to allude to Suri’s disdain for Cruz by saying he’s “overly criticized Cruz on social media” (click “expand”):
But, as Suri sees it, Cruz hasn’t exactly made a habit of abiding by guidance from the executive branch — especially during Biden’s presidency.
“Oftentimes, the State Department does ask senators and members of the House to quiet down on certain things, but rarely, rarely if ever, has Senator Cruz followed that,” Suri said. “So it would be strange if in this case, he listened.”
(….)
Suri has criticized Cruz overtly on social media and suggested that Cruz might overreact to his roles in U.S.-Russia relations.
“He is not held in a special category by Russian diplomats, I can tell you that as a fact,” Suri said.
In reality, Caldwell’s anything but a sober expert. Suri tweetedCruz “is a menace to democracy” With the hashtag “Worst Senator.”
Suri was just over one month before, on February 18th. said: “Ted Cruz consistently condemns people for exactly what he does, even worse. #ResignTedCruz.”
Suri’s disgust went beyond 2022. He died October 10, 2018 tweeted a since-deleted video about failed senatorial candidate Robert O’Rourke (D): “This destroys Ted Cruz. Spread the word! #Beto #cruzsucks.”
Needless to say, it’s a bit of a stretch to summarize Suri’s views toward Cruz as “overly critic[al]…on social media.”
Caldwell also mentioned Jonathan Franks in her role as family spokesperson, but again she committed bias by omission. Franks, a liberal activist with a history of sexist racistComments, had previously been an aide for House Majority Leader Steny Holyer (D–MD). As a spokespersonMontel Williams, actor.
Franks pleadedTuesday morning “not make”Detained Americans “partisan” He has. “a long list of Republicans whom I think have gone out of their way for the wrongfully detained,” This is a fact that Americans from all walks of the political spectrum need to support. But transparency is important too.
Despite having tweeted that admirable view, Frank’s far-left takes have continued, including one from Saturday in which he attackedKayleigh McEnany, former White House Press Secretary for raising conflicts of interest concerns regarding Karine Jean-Pierre, incoming Biden Press secretary.
On March 27, he lamentedThe White House “senior staff” don’t “seem to understand what makes Joe Biden so special.”
Most of Caldwell’s piece consisted of Joey Reed’s allegations against Cruz, calling him “an embarrassment to the state of Texas” and so much so that he “will work for” anyone who wants “to defeat that son of a bitch.”
Caldwell also included comments from Cruz (click “expand”):
Cruz’s office partly confirms the Reeds’ account. The senator refrained from taking a public stance on Trevor Reed’s captivity out of concern for antagonizing Russian strongman Vladimir Putin. But, aides said, that doesn’t mean he wasn’t working behind the scenes.
“We were repeatedly advised by Administration officials that my taking a public role in this specific case would be counterproductive, and that because of my role fighting to stop the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, leaders in Russia may well have linked the two issues,” Cruz said in a statement to The Dallas Morning News. “That would have endangered Trevor and delayed his release.”
Cruz said he’s “very sorry that Trevor’s family interpreted this as not prioritizing his release, and my heart breaks for them for having to endure all the pain of Trevor’s imprisonment … Fighting to free American hostages wrongly held by tyrannical governments is a deep personal passion, and I have spent my entire Senate career fighting to release Americans in captivity.”
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