ABC White House correspondent Jonathan Karl caught White House communications director Alyssa Farah in a lie — and laid out his evidence on Twitter.
The exchange began with Karl, who claimed in a Sunday morning tweet that the White House had refused to “allow any of the medical experts on the president’s own coronavirus task force” to appear on “This Week” to discuss the continued spread of the pandemic. (RELATED: ‘Freaked Them Out’: Jonathan Karl Says Trump Diagnosis Has White House ‘Really, Really Rattled’)
.@jonkarl: “(Dr. Fauci) was more than willing to join us, but the White House wouldn’t allow you to hear from the nation’s leading expert on coronavirus. In fact, they wouldn’t allow any of the medical experts on the president’s own coronavirus task force to appear on this show.” pic.twitter.com/qi9diTBQeb
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) October 11, 2020
Karl then doubled down, again saying that the White House would not allow any members of the task force to appear on the show and adding, “Quite remarkable that they would muzzle the health experts in the middle of a pandemic.”
The White House would not allow Dr. Fauci to speak this morning. In fact, the White House press office would not allow anyone on the President’s task force to be interviewed. Quite remarkable that they would muzzle the health experts in the middle of a pandemic https://t.co/dklZmbWvd7
— Jonathan Karl (@jonkarl) October 11, 2020
Farah responded, saying that Dr. Anthony Fauci had made multiple appearances in recent days, and claiming that Karl had not requested any of the other task force members. (RELATED: ‘She’s Not Some Distressed Damsel’: White House Denies CNN’s Report That Dr. Birx Is ‘Unhappy’)
“FALSE. 1) Dr Fauci has been doing media all week – appearing on PBS Newshour & NBC’s Andrea Mitchell 3 days ago. 2) not getting your desired guest does not = the WH trying to “muzzle” anyone. This narrative is tired. 3) @jonkarl didn’t request any other member of the task force,” Farah tweeted.
FALSE. 1) Dr Fauci has been doing media all week – appearing on PBS Newshour & NBC’s Andrea Mitchell
3 days ago. 2) not getting your desired guest does not = the WH trying to “muzzle” anyone. This narrative is tired. 3) @jonkarl didn’t request any other member of the task force. https://t.co/C6UZciVO26— Alyssa Farah (@Alyssafarah) October 11, 2020
Karl responded by sending a screenshot of an email, addressed to Farah and dated October 9, in which Karl requested Dr. Deborah Birx, Admiral Brett Giroir, Dr. Sean Conley or Vice President Mike Pence if Fauci were not available.
The truth matters. The requests for Dr. Fauci and the other members of the task force were made directly to you — multiple times. In this email, for example: https://t.co/fL6U1u1JNB pic.twitter.com/PQRr1DgG4t
— Jonathan Karl (@jonkarl) October 11, 2020
“The truth matters. The requests for Dr. Fauci and the other members of the task force were made directly to you — multiple times. In this email, for example,” Karl said.
Farah, after addressing the screenshot, continued to argue that Fauci had not been “muzzled” by the White House, sharing a list of his recent media appearances.
Dr. Fauci has sure been on a lot of TV this week for someone being “muzzled” by @WhiteHouse.
CNN new day
CNN cuomo
MSNBC Andrea Mitchell
PBS Newshour
AP multimedia interview
CBS News RadioCc: @jonkarl https://t.co/C6UZciVO26
— Alyssa Farah (@Alyssafarah) October 11, 2020
Farah later claimed that she had simply not seen the email requesting appearances from other members of the White House Coronavirus Task Force.
You’re right Jon, I missed one email in a thousand I receive a day.
— Alyssa Farah (@Alyssafarah) October 11, 2020
Darin Miller, special assistant to the president for communications, added in a follow-up statement, “One missed email shouldn’t distract from the absurdity of Jon Karl’s claim: Dr. Fauci and other federal health leaders are on TV every week, speaking candidly without any intervention or ‘muzzle’ whatsoever. This should be abundantly clear to anyone who covers this administration’s efforts to fight COVID-19.”