NY Times issues major retraction in hit piece on EPA’s Scott Pruitt, his daughter
The New York Times published a “major correction” in a recent article attacking EPA head Scott Pruitt, particularly details surrounding his daughter’s admission to UVA Law.
Their assertion implied that Pruitt used his position for a recommendation, but this happened before the presidential election of 2016.
Correction: June 16, 2018: An earlier version of this article included an item that erroneously described Scott Pruitt’s use of his position at the Environmental Protection Agency for personal matters. While a Virginia lawmaker, William Howell, said he wrote a letter of recommendation to the University of Virginia Law School on behalf of Mr. Pruitt’s daughter, McKenna, he actually wrote it while Mr. Pruitt was the attorney general of Oklahoma. After publication of the article, additional research by a legislative aide, Mr. Howell said, showed he had incorrectly stated the date of the letter, which he said was actually written on Nov. 1, 2016, more than three months before Mr. Pruitt was confirmed asE.P.A. administrator, in February 2017. The law school, which had declined to comment for the article because of privacy concerns, issued a statement on Saturday saying Ms. Pruitt had given the school permission to confirm that she had been offered early admission in late November 2016 and that the “application was evaluated according to our usual admissions procedures.” The material about Ms. Pruitt’s application has been removed from the article.
The Washington Times summarized: “In other words, Pruitt got a letter of recommendation for his daughter back when the New York Times assured the world that Hillary Clinton was going to be President of the United States. Not only does this allegation have nothing to do with the EPA, the federal government, President Trump or the Trump Administration… but it has nothing to do with anything.
“A father asks a colleague for a letter of recommendation for their daughter? And this is a scandal;? Will the New York Times hold their staff up to this standard? Is every employee of that august organization suspect if they got a letter of recommendation through a family member? We’d be looking at a pretty empty newsroom, not to mention the executive suite.”
The Hill published the despicable fake news story, making minor changes to their version: “Pruitt enlisted aides to help daughter get into law school, gain internship: report” to the new version “Pruitt frequently asked aides to help in personal matters for family: report.”
Mr. Trump and his cabinet should thank the Times for another boost to their support with media lies and attacks that are personal and fabricated.
