Congresswoman Pressed MSNBC For Retraction On Soldier Killed In Iraq

Staff for Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), who could not name the last soldier from her district killed in Iraq during an appearance on MSNBC, acknowledged they sought a retraction from the network after the incident occurred.

"We spoke to them about the inaccuracy in the confrontation," said Matt Lambert, Blackburn's Communications Director, in a Friday phone conversation with the Huffington Post. "They said after investigating the documents we sent them that we deserved a correction, and we were going to get it."

David Shuster challenged Blackburn to name the last soldier killed in the Iraq War from her district. After naming Private Jeremy S. Bohannon, many conservative media outlets slammed Shuster for broadcasting inaccurate information because Bohannon had actually been a constituent of Democratic Tennessee Rep. John Tanner.

In a statement, Blackburn also slammed Shuster for "interrupting" the "grieving process" of families of the fallen:

First, my heart goes out to the family of the soldier Shuster identified for the loss of their son, as well as this rude interruption of their grieving process by a callous young reporter. I think they deserve an apology from David Shuster more than anyone involved in this incident. Correcting his mistake was the least he could do.

In good faith, I accepted MSNBC's very specific request to discuss the politics surrounding the attack on General Petraeus in the New York Times -- not Rush Limbaugh, Chuck Hagel, or Iraq. Under no circumstances is it appropriate for a Member of Congress to interject private citizens into a public debate without their consent. This incident puts Schuster's journalistic judgment and credibility into question and I hope that MSNBC takes appropriate steps to ensure that something like this doesn't happen in the future. Finally, I would highlight that it is not the place for Members of Congress to publicize casualties.

Being asked to report to the viewership of Tucker Carlson's program the name of latest lost soldier, marine or airman is flat wrong. The privacy of these families must be protected in accordance with their wishes and I have no greater responsibility as an elected official than to be an advocate for our military personnel and their families.

Although MSNBC did apologize to Blackburn on air, subsequent reporting from the Tennessee Commercial Appeal showed that Bohannon had declared Bon Aqua, TN as his legal residence before enlisting. While the town of Bon Aqua falls within Blackburn's district and two additional districts, it appears that he was not based in his hometown of McEwan, which falls squarely in Rep. Tanner's district. Census records further showed Bohannon's address as falling within Blackburn's district, the paper reported.

Blackburn's spokesman questioned the veracity of the report.

"I don't know if he was living there," Lambert said. "I don't agree with that, the Department of Defense notified us that he was a member of the 8th district. We have a document saying that he was living in the 8th district"

Lambert said he could not produce the document he referred to out of respect for the family.

Meanwhile, an official casualty identification from the Defense Department's website lists Lambert's home as Bon Aqua.

Update: Randy Ford, Spokesman for Rep. Tanner, confirmed to the Huffington Post that the Congressman was notified by the Department of Defense when Private Bohannon was killed.

Note: This story was corrected to reflect the fact that Bon Aqua, TN, falls across multiple districts, including Blackburn's.

Comments

[mjjcpa]

It is unreasonable to think that a congressman can know the name of every KIA in war. What the traitorcrats and surrendercrats at nbc are failing to convey is that compared to past conflicts, our casualties are EXTREMELY low due to our superior training, equipment and medical care. It's a good thing nbc couldn't get away with this mass sedition during our revolution, the civil war, or WWs 1 & 2

[TekBoss]

I don't give a crap where this soldier lived. He was in her STATE and as a Congresswoman from that state, that should have been good enough.

You mean to tell me that her state is losing so many soldiers she only has time to pay attention to the ones in her own district?

Face it. She supports the war, and has all the time in world to find out about the MoveOn.org ad and how much was paid for it and when it was placed, etc., etc. but hasn't the time to find out the names of the soldiers from her STATE that have been killed in Iraq. PERIOD!

[Sketchartist]

MSNBC General Manager Dan Abrams owes Shuster a public apology for, as always, cravenly caving in to deceptive rightwing pressure and forcing this excellent reporter to apologize on the air for confronting Blackburn with what turned out to be essentially CORRECT information.

Also, Abrams owes an apology to us VIEWERS for his tradition of acting as a Republican shill and using FALSE information to confront those who have CORRECTLY tried to warn us about the Iraq war.
(See http://www.crooksandliars.com/2007/09/29/dan-abrams-wankery-from-120202-on-iraq/ )

[markand]

Why is our country in a free fall? Is it because the neo con nitwits are pushing the yoke all the way forward to insanity?

[bjobotts]

Doesn't the congresswoman find it embarrassing to email and console victim's families while supporting a policy that gets them killed. Why was she spending excessive time and focus on some disturbing ad rather than trying to find a way to bring the troops home. She demonstrated such a bitter condescending hateful response to an ad that was suggesting that we might be being mislead by a general for political reasons. It didn't deserve her hateful bitter response much less all the time and energy she spent on such a petty issue. Move on could justify its tactic after being lied to by another great general...Colin Powell... and the president and the vice president that lied us into a war. Her outrage was unfounded and was clearly meant to get a political points because she did not offer the same feelings toward Rush's comments which were unjustified insults. Could she be any phonier...I doubt it.

[BradKnSF]

Yet again we're faced with another technicality. This reminds me of how conservatives talk about critics of our Iraq "War" rather than talk about the failure of the war itself. So we're told that technically he lived in another district therefore Schuster is a bad boy. Never mind that Blackburn wasn't even able to cite a single name, not even the wrong name. (I watched it) She didn't name a single name!!! Now she suggests we shouldn't publicly name the solder BECAUSE they died. Circular logic truly is another hallmark of conservatism. Marsha, Marsha, Marsha!!!

[Clavis]

Remember, when a Republican is presented in a bad light, it's important to attack the credibility of the accuser.

On the other hand, when a Demcorat is presented in a bad light, it's important to judiciously consider the accusation and give the accuser the benefit of the doubt, at least initially.

Everybody got that?

[2224612]

Hmmm.
A repuke was asked who the last unfortunate soul was that was killed in her abomination in the Middle East and she could not.

So how does this morph into a problem for MSNBC?

Honestly, who the f$#k cares where the youngster is from or who his congressperson is. The fact is that these fools in congress could nto care less about their constituents being killed in this little dust-up. All they care about is how far up our asses they can shove the broomstick.

[lovedog]

Goodness. This isn't hard. Rep. Blackburn is a republican and therefore was correct in all her utterances. If she was challenged in any way, the media is biased.

When, oh when, will both houses of congress condemn David Schuster???

[plantsman]

If you've seen Blackburn on Hardball, you know she's water-carrying Bushie of the first order who interrupts everyone. She deserved her comeuppance.

[TScheisskopf]

Well, since Rep. Blackburn evidently is The Decider of All Reality, undoubtedly she is right. Right?

I mean, who are you gonna believe, her or your lyin' eyes?