The White House sent a scathing letter to Fox News executives this week slamming the network’s coverage of false bribery and corruption allegations against President Joe Biden and demanded a retraction after the source behind the claims was arrested for lying to the FBI.
“As you of course now know, the source of this allegation has been federally indicted for making the whole thing up. As you likely also know, a recent public court filing in this case alleged that this source stated he had been in contact with Russian intelligence operatives,” White House spokesperson for investigations Ian Sams wrote in the letter obtained by Mediaite.
“Despite this, Fox has taken no steps to retract, correct, or update its reporting on this false allegation from 2023,” Sams added.
Earlier this month, Special counsel David Weiss–the Trump-appointed U.S. attorney who was promoted to special counsel to investigate Hunter Biden by Biden Attorney General Merrick Garland–announced Alexander Smirnov has been charged with lying to the FBI about the Biden family.
Smirnov was the source of the bribery claims against Joe Biden that were heavily promoted by Fox News hosts and ultimately led to an impeachment inquiry being launched by House Republicans against the president.
Despite Smirnov’s arrest for lying, Fox News has refused to walk back their story and in some cases are doubling down.
Sean Hannity, who promoted the story in at least 85 segments on his show, questioned the media’s credibility while slamming coverage of the Steele dossier and called Weiss— the Trump-appointed US attorney—a Democratic hack, according to CNN.
Another Fox host, Jesse Watters suggested Smirnov was arrested because he revealed the alleged scheme.
The network also hasn’t updated its report from last year breaking the news about Smirnov’s claims now found to be false.
“We feel strongly that all Fox News Digital articles on this topic should at a minimum be updated with editor’s notes informing readers that the source of this allegation has been federally indicted for making it up,” Sams wrote to Fox executives. “We also feel strongly that Fox News Channel television personalities like Hannity and Watters, among others, should inform their viewers on air that they have been sharing a discredited allegation from a source who has been federally indicted for making it up.”
Fox News has reportedly told the White House they will not correct or retract their reporting, a person familiar with the matter told CNN.
“FOX News Media has reported on all key developments since the announcement that Alexander Smirnov was charged with lying to the FBI, featuring the story prominently,” a spokesperson said. “We will continue to report on developments in all aspects of the ongoing investigations, hearings, and trials.”
