Media fails to disclose CREW’s ties to Hillary Clinton ally David Brock


The following is a news analysis.

It’s mostly conservatives who are corrupt.

At least that’s the expressed opinion of Hillary Clinton operative David Brock. He said so in 2014 when he took over as chairman of the board at the ethics watchdog Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW).

Brock is also founder of the liberal propaganda group Media Matters. Media Matters has long served as the attack dog of any reporters, news outlets, politicians, interests, whistleblowers or ideas perceived as threatening to the narrative as established by President Obama, Clinton and other Democrat interests.

While CREW always leaned decidedly left, and apparently receives the lion’s share if not all of its funding from liberal donors and fundraisers, CREW won respect over the years by not being afraid to sometimes go after ethically-challenged Democrats as well as Republicans. Former Rep. Anthony Weiner and Rep. Charles Rangel, both Democrats, were among CREW’s targets.

David Brock, Hillary Clinton ally, runs a wide range of political super PACs and nonprofits. Image from YouTube.com
David Brock is a Hillary Clinton ally who runs a wide range of neutral-sounding nonprofits and political super PACs that dig up dirt on opponents and spin the press. Image: YouTube.com

But with Brock in the mix, the once-respected ethics watchdog became another “tool” in Brock’s and Media Matters’ messaging toolbox, as the shared press officer said upon Brock’s entrance to the stage. Yet many in the news media are either unaware, or simply fail to disclose this partisan association.

[quote]“Transparency and good government are progressive values. I think the organizations associated with David [Brock] have been working on those issues in different ways for years, and CREW and its professionals will bring an additional tool in that toolbox.”–Mark Glaze, CREW and Media Matters spokesman in 2014[/quote]

VISIT: CREW’s website

An article in “Government Executive” reports on new complaints CREW has filed against certain “dark money” political groups. But the article doesn’t mention that the targeted groups are conservative or libertarian, and that CREW is a liberal group tied to Brock and Media Matters.

[quote]As chairman of the board of CREW in 2014, Clinton ally Brock said “our experience has been that the vast amount of violations of the public trust can be found on the conservative side of the aisle.”[/quote]

READ: Government Executive Article on CREW filing new complaints

It’s not only conservatives who have dark money groups (that do not have to disclose their donors, so can keep the names in the dark). According to the Center for Responsive Politics, liberal dark money groups spent more than $10.1 million in the last election on attack ads against Republican candidates for Congress.

“During the 2012 election, Patriot Majority USA spent nearly $3.5 million against Republican Sen. Dean Heller — [Democrat Sen. Harry] Reid’s Senate counterpart from Nevada’s congressional delegation who Reid actively campaigned against,” reported the Center for Public Integrity.

Close Clinton ally David Brock runs a network of PACs and neutral-sounding nonprofits that spin the press.
David Brock is a fierce Hillary Clinton advocate whose groups attack those perceived as threatening to the Clinton agenda.

There’s nothing wrong with any group, including CREW– a liberal nonprofit with a Hillary Clinton ally pulling strings– pursuing its own agenda and advancing narratives. That’s allowed under our laws. But the media should include the context when reporting on them. Describing CREW as a “Washington ethics advocacy group” or a “nonprofit,” fails to do that. The news media risks allowing itself to be used as a propaganda tool rather than being a reporter of facts.

READ: CREW’s Watchdog Status Fades After Arrival of [Clinton Confidant] Brock

In addition to the pro-Hillary Clinton Media Matters, Brock is founder of: Correct the Record, a pro-Hillary Clinton super PAC and rapid-response team that defends Clinton (but is often not described as such when covered in the news); the pro-Hillary Clinton super PAC American Bridge 21st Century, which conducts opposition research for the pro-Hillary super PAC Priorities USA; as well as other nonprofits, websites and LLCs backing Hillary Clinton and Democrat causes.

A CREW spokesman recently told Bloomberg news:

[quote]“The board membership may change, but we have always maintained the highest level of integrity and absolute independence in the work we do—and that remains the case.” –Jordan Libowitz, CREW communications director[/quote]


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3 thoughts on “Media fails to disclose CREW’s ties to Hillary Clinton ally David Brock”

  1. Gary A. Anderson

    It should be no secret many in the Clinton camp are less than honest. Is that not the nature of Clinton politics? Does she, like Obama, not frequently re-define the meaning of “transparency” & “integrity?” Do they not often engage in measured words to hoodwink the gullible? Are they not complicit in censoring truth? In short, both Obama & Clinton are Machiavellian, self-serving, politicians intent on snookering the public & retaining all forms of unilateral power!

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