I’m sure you all recall the earlier ABC News report quoting the suspects Mother as saying, “You Have the Right Person.”
I know I am not the only one whose eyebrow was raised over such a quote. How could a person some 1100 miles away, woken up at 5 am and told her son was arrested for something she had no knowledge of be able to so cavalierly state “You Have the Right Person?”
What did she know that she didn’t speak? Why wasn’t want she knew reported to anyone who might have prevented the heinous act? How could someone with such knowledge just sit back and wait until it happened and then say what she was quoted as saying?
All sorts of questions entered my own mind as I am sure it did yours too.
As it turns out, what she says she said is not exactly as ABC quoted her.
A report from Politico quotes Holmes’ mother, speaking through her attorney as saying her words that morning were actually,
“I was awakened by a call from a reporter by ABC on July 20 about 5:45 in the morning. I did not know anything about a shooting in Aurora at that time. He asked if I was Arlene Holmes and if my son was James Holmes who lives in Aurora, Colorado. I answered yes, you have the right person. I was referring to myself. I asked him to tell me why he was calling and he told me about a shooting in Aurora. He asked for a comment. I told him I could not comment because I did not know if the person he was talking about was my son, and I would need to find out.”ABC made their claim in the same article where they got it wrong by trying to link the suspect to the Tea Party in Colorado, misidentifying another John Holmes as the possible suspect who was some 30 years older than the actual suspect.
ABC issued a somewhat apology for getting that one wrong, but they are not apologizing for this one. No, ABC is standing by their reporter, Matthew Mosk in another article with the charged headline of Alleged Colorado Gunman’s Family Stands by Son, only acknowledging their quote was being challenged deeper in the article.
Holmes’ mother, Arlene Holmes asked through her attorney, Lisa Damiani for a recording of the call, but none exists. Then Damiani read the statement from Mrs. Holmes’ clarifying what she said.
I find her version much more plausible over ABC reporter Matthew Mosk as her version makes sense. It clears up the questions raised of why she would just blurt out so quickly “you have the right person.”
Few of us in the pacific Time Zone knew what had happened earlier in Aurora at 5 am and I can only imagine what I would say, being woken up so early by such a call.
ABC should apologize for this additional slip up and get some reporters that “get it right” and not cast aspersions on people they interview under such conditions.
The public is not served by any media that I so quick to get a story out that they get so much wrong, especially given that in the case of the wrong John Holmes, he began receiving threats from many who apparently ignored ABC’s weak apology over misidentifying him as the suspect who just shot up a theater, murdering 12 people and injuring over 50 others.
I find it incredible how so many, especially liberals, are so quick to avoid Fox News as unreliable due to their giving fair coverage to conservatives, but place so much faith in ABC who has now shown their main effort appears to be “Always Blame Conservatives.”
If they got this one so horribly wrong, you must wonder just what all else have they gotten wrong in regards to the Tea party, conservatives and conservative causes and that they reported as factual?
What other members of the “Jurassic Media” have followed suit and also misreported things?
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1 comment:
Thanks for posting this Lew...this clarifies a lot. When I first heard about the mother's statement I asked myself, "Why aren't others picking up on this?" Now I see why.
Norm
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