The Media Research Center’s Nicholas Fondacaro had himself a rant in a March 15 post:
CNN’s Jake Tapper and Pamela Brown launched a smear campaign against New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers this week after it was revealed he was on Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s shortlist for VP; accusing him of believing the conspiracy theory that the Sandy Hook school shooting was fake. And when Rodgers denied their allegations, Tapper took to his show, The Lead on Thursday to falsely claim Rodgers was not only refusing to deny the allegations but was actively defending the conspiracy theory.
Following the publishing of CNN’s hit piece, Rodgers released a statement saying:
As I’m on the record saying in the past, what happened in Sandy Hook was an absolute tragedy. I am not and have never been of the opinion that the events did not take place. Again, I hope that we learn from this and other tragedies to identify the signs that will allow us to prevent unnecessary loss of life. My thoughts and prayers continue to remain with the families affected along with the entire Sandy Hook community.
Despite Rodgers clearly saying he had “never been of the opinion that the events did not take place,” Tapper was intent on gaslighting his viewers and insisted that Rodgers was not denying the allegations he smeared him with; he even suggested Rodgers was not addressing their story at all.
But as Mediaite pointed out, Rodgers’ statement is highly parsed and doesn’t actually deny CNN’s original claims:
For the layperson, that might seem to be enough. However, a close examination shows no denial of the CNN report, only an insistence that he has “never been of the opinion that the events did not take place.” He does not specifically deny the key charge of the report, which is that he claimed the shooting was orchestrated by the government. Most notably, his statement is entirely void of any denial of having promoted these loathsome Sandy Hook conspiracy theories.
The Rodgers statement is the very definition of a lawyered-up response, designed more to avoid further problems than to douse any flames.
[…]If someone accused me of spreading Sandy Hook conspiracy theories, what would I say? My response would be quick and precise, something like, “I have never spread Sandy Hook conspiracy theories in my life. I find them disgusting. Anyone saying I have is a liar.”
Why didn’t Aaron Rodgers say that? It’s almost certainly because he can’t.
When Tapper pointed this out, Fondacaro chose to double on his attacks:
In teeing up and analyzing Rodger’s response, Tapper blatantly lied that Rodgers was not denying the allegations:
Now today, Aaron Rodgers is responding to our story kind of. He does not deny saying what we reported. He said, but he or a representative for him tweeted the following statement, quote, “As, I’m on the record saying in the past, what happened in Sandy Hook was an absolute tragedy. I am not and have never been of the opinion that the events did not take place. Again, I hope that we learned from this and other tragedies to identify the signs that would allow us to prevent unnecessary loss of life. My thoughts and prayers continue to remain with the families affected along with the entire Sandy Hook community,” unquote.
Again, if you read that statement, you Rodgers does not deny those comments that he made the Pamela Brown and to the other source.
“This is where we are as a nation where we have actually as a subject for debate whether or not a vice presidential prospect thinks a massive shooting actually happened,” Tapper bitterly vented.
But that’s not true.
No, Nick, it is true. CNN did not accuse Rodgers of denying that the Sandy Hook took place — only of spreading bogus conspiracy theories about it — so Rodgers is responding to an accusation that was never made.
It’s highly ironic that Fondacaro is falsely accusing Tapper of lying when he himself has spread so many lies.