Rush Limbaugh accuses CNN and MSNBC of repeating libelous lies

October 14, 10:12 PMLaw and Politics ExaminerD. Christian Moore

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Ever since the news broke that Rush Limbaugh may be considering a stake in the Saint Louis Rams NFL franchise, the public debate has been loud and vociferous. Part of the opposition has come from those who suggest that, as such a divisive figure, it may be bad business for the NFL to have him associated with one of their teams. The other side of the argument holds that, since this is the United States of America, we each have the freedom to purchase whatever we want with our money. While this argument has been interesting, what has been even more interesting has been the recent accusation of libel and character assassination against MSNBC, CNN and some sports media outlets based on quotes which reporters have attributed to Mr. Limbaugh, but which may have actually been internet fabrications.

A number of those opposed to Mr. Limbaugh’s ownership of the NFL franchise have claimed he is a racist and has made racist statements. As evidence they point to reports of racist quotes attributed to Mr. Limbaugh such as calling for the Medal of Honor to be given to the man who shot Martin Luther King Jr., or that “slavery had merits”. If true, these are particularly heinous statements. The problem, apart from general free speech considerations, is that Mr. Limbaugh may have never even said any of the things he is being accused of saying. So while his opponents are trying to claim he does more than just discuss controversial topics and that he is in fact a racist and a “hatemonger”, there does not seem to be any evidence of this, at least that I was able to find.

The truth is, reasonable people can debate the merits and intentions of affirmative action, the motives and methods of Jesse Jackson and the policies of President Obama, as Mr. Limbaugh often does; it does not make them racist. This brings me to the libel suit. Many media outlets have been airing the disputed comments and attributing them to Mr. Limbaugh. Mr. Limbaugh has repeatedly denied these statements and challenged the media to review his radio show archive tapes to find any evidence of statements similar to the ones referenced above. When media outlets continued to attribute the racist statements to him, Mr. Limbaugh then sent letters to the heads of media organizations demanding apologies and retractions. He further suggested legal action would be following if they did not comply.

A recent press release from Brent Bozell of the Media Research Center stated:

“The CNN and MSNBC ‘news’ networks are guilty of promoting outright falsehoods and purposely using fabricated disinformation created by left-wing radicals to destroy a conservative leader. There is no grey area here. CNN and MSNBC were given ample opportunity to come clean, but both are continuing to masquerade malicious lies as credible.”

Mr. Limbaugh has stated the quotes he is accused of making first appeared in a book by liberal author Jack Huberman. Huberman featured the remark about slavery in his 2006 book 101 People Who are Really Screwing Up America. I checked a copy of the book and this quote was on page 232, attributed to Mr. Limbaugh with no airdate provided. Rush has also stated the media would have known he did not make these statements if they had researched or confirmed the source and as such they are engaged in libel, not journalism.  Mr. Limbaugh has also stated on his nationally syndicated radio show that this entire episide is part of an attempt by those with an agenda different from his to silence his voice

It would be interesting see how a libel suit would play out simply because of the complexity of this issue and the modern blurring of the lines between “objective” journalism, (if such a thing ever actually existed), commentary, and infotainment. Further, though Rush may not have made these exact statements, he does generally engage in controversial topics so attacks and misrepresentations such as these may simply “come with the territory”. The media also generally has broad leeway in discussing issues and people, so a libel suit would carry a very high burden of proof on Mr. Limbaugh’s part. He would have to show the media was not merely “sloppy” in their reporting, but willfully misrepresenting the facts with the intent of damaging his reputation. It is unlikely this burden would be met; still, it would be fun to watch.