Column: Woe to the Weaponizers of Avenatti

February 19th, 2020 6:43 AM

This ends-justifies-the-means approach to journalism can lead to embarrassing results. The Valentine’s Day conviction of anti-Trump activist and lawyer Michael Avenatti on three charges of extorting Nike seems like a direct result of the media’s feverish desire to force their “first draft” on the country.

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Stelter: Was I ‘Stupid’ to Say Avenatti Was ‘Serious’ 2020 Contender?

February 16th, 2020 3:23 PM
Well, it may have taken a while, but CNN host Brian Stelter finally admitted that praising lawyer Michael Avenatti (A.K.A creepy porn lawyer) as a “serious” contender for 2020 wasn’t a smart move. The admission came during the latest Reliable Sources as he was speaking with writers form the left-wing Daily Beast, Lachlan Markey and Asawin Suebsaeng about their new book about how the DC swamp…
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After Aiding His Hoaxes, NBC Downplays Avenatti’s Extortion Conviction

February 16th, 2020 12:04 PM

As NewsBusters media editor and research analyst Bill D’Agostino documented last year, NBC News and MSNBC gifted lawyer Michael Avenatti with 113 TV appearances, with Today giving him his first as he pursued cases against President Trump. On Friday, the so-called “creepy porn lawyer” was convicted of trying to extort shoemaker Nike for $25 million dollars. Despite their intertwined history,…

Devin Nunes Sues CNN, Daily Beast Over ‘Demonstrably False’ Attacks

November 25th, 2019 10:50 PM
There are times when it seems that obviously liberal outlets in the “mainstream media” get away with producing “fake news” without facing any consequences for their poor reporting. That situation will change after Thanksgiving, when California Republican Devin Nunes -- one of the press’s favorite targets during the “impeachment inquiry” held recently in the U.S. House of Representatives -- fights…
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Kelly, Carlson Rip NBC’s Dishonesty, Defending Lauer, Weinstein

October 17th, 2019 6:04 PM
Before focusing on liberal media bias and their disdain for those in flyover country and not within their bubbles, Fox News Channel host Tucker Carlson and former FNC host Megyn Kelly dove Wednesday night into the ongoing train wreck that is Kelly’s other former employer (NBC News) with their alleged coverups of sexual misconduct. 
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Of Course They Did: CBS, NBC Bury Feds Ending Trump Hush Money Probe

July 17th, 2019 8:18 PM
It was another bad day on Wednesday for The Resistance as it was revealed that the Southern District of New York had ended their probe concerning the Trump Organization and alleged hush money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels and Playboy model Karen McDougal. And on cue, the CBS Evening News and NBC Nightly News saw no reason to acknowledge this while ABC's World News Tonight only gave it a 16…

Stelter on Hyping Avenatti as White House Timber: 'I Own That Comment'

May 24th, 2019 3:50 PM
Washington Post media blogger Erik Wemple tried to comb through the wreckage of Michael Avenatti, liberal cable news sensation-turned-potential crook, and asked CNN and MSNBC for comment. Brian Stelter acknowledged he was wrong to take Avenatti seriously as a presidential contender: "I own that comment." Rachel Maddow defended her "coverage" of the sleazy lawyer despite the fact that "Avenatti…
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Howard Kurtz: 'The Media Were Avenatti's Enabler'

May 23rd, 2019 7:09 PM
Another day, another lawsuit for the creepy porn lawyer. It seems as though it was only yesterday when Michael Avenatti was touted as being a potential Democratic 2020 presidential candidate and the golden boy of the mainstream media as a whole. The incessant fawning over Avenatti by his friends at CNN and MSNBC is difficult to forget, however, the networks are failing to acknowledge the enabling…
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FLASHBACK: The Media's Year-Long Lovefest With Michael Avenatti

May 23rd, 2019 12:53 PM
With Michael Avenatti embroiled in yet another legal scandal, it’s worth remembering the incredible amount of friendly coverage that he received from liberal television outlets last year. In addition to landing an incredible 254 live television appearances in a single year, the notorious lawyer who previously represented porn star Stormy Daniels received considerable praise from cable and network…
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CNN Surprised by Avenatti Indictments, Downplays How It Worshipped Him

May 22nd, 2019 6:18 PM
Wednesday afternoon’s CNN Newsroom reported in two segments between 2:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. Eastern that former Stormy Daniels attorney and liberal media boy toy Michael Avenatti was indicted in separate cases pertaining to his alleged extortion of Nike and alleged financial defrauding of Daniels. Of course, CNN only footnoted the fact they had made their bed with Avenatti, hosting him an…
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Alan Dershowitz: CNN Chose Avenatti Over Me for Russia Probe Analysis

April 22nd, 2019 8:15 AM
Alan Dershowitz told Howard Kurtz on Sunday's MediaBuzz that, despite his long and distinguished legal career, CNN chose Michael Avenatti over him to be their go-to guy for legal analysis about the Trump-Russia collusion probe.
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Update: TV News Hosted Michael Avenatti 254 Times in One Year

April 11th, 2019 6:12 PM
Former porn star lawyer Michael Avenatti is back in the headlines after being indicted Thursday on 36 charges ranging from fraud to tax dodging. Incidentally, this is the same Michael Avenatti whom broadcast and cable news networks have hosted a whopping 254 times over the past year, according to the MRC's latest count of the spotlight-loving attorney's televised escapades.
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Despite Extortion Charges, NBC Boosts Avenatti’s Claims Against Nike

April 8th, 2019 9:11 PM
Apparently, the folks at NBC News are gluttons for punishment. During Monday’s edition of NBC Nightly News, the news organization boosted claims made by lawyer and proven huckster, Michael Avenatti that shoe giant Nike was bribing high school athletes to go to schools with Nike deals. NBC treated the claims as serious while downplaying the federal extortion charges against Avenatti for allegedly…
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Gutfeld WRECKS Media ‘Jack***es’ ‘Crushed’ by Mueller Conclusion

April 1st, 2019 1:15 PM

Doing the comedy that NBC’s Saturday Night Live largely retired from doing at least a decade ago, Fox News Channel’s Greg Gutfeld offered a tour de force to open his Saturday eponymous show in the form of a monologue against the liberal media “jackasses” “crushed” by the Mueller report’s conclusion that there was no Trump-Russia collusion.