Obama Death Threats Falsely Reported by CNN's Rick Sanchez, Says Secret Service Director

J.C. Grant, Yahoo! Contributor Network
Dec 4, 2009 "Share your voice on Yahoo! websites. Start Here."

On August 28, 2009, CNN correspondent and left-wing extremist, Rick Sanchez, reported that death threats against President Obama are 400 percent higher than during previous administrations-something Sanchez invidiously attributed to anti-abortion groups. And then, on October 18, 2009, The Boston Globe, a self-described "progressive institution" and subsidiary of The New York Times, also reported that President Obama is a mark for more death threats than his predecessors-a circumstance The Boston Globe imputed to Americans opposed to a large federal government. According to Secret Service Director Mark Sullivan, however, both of these left-wing media reports are patently false. In fact, according to Director Sullivan, death threats against President Obama are no greater than those leveled against Presidents Bush and Clinton.

During a CNN Newsroom report on August 28, Rick Sanchez delivered the following melodramatic report: "A CNN source with very close ties to the U.S. Secret Service confirmed to me today that threats on the life of the president of the United States have now risen by as much as 400 percent since his inauguration, 400 percent death threats against Barack Obama-quote-- 'in this environment' go far beyond anything the Secret Service has seen with any other president." (emphasis added)

Similarly, The Boston Globe, in its article of October 18, wrote in material part: "The ... threat is ... growing, fueled ... by Obama's election as the nation's first black president .... Obama ... has been the target of more threats since his inauguration than his predecessors." (emphasis supplied) Quoting a study by known left-wing organization, The Southern Poverty Law Center, The Boston Globe continued on: "A key difference this time is that the federal government ... is headed by a black man." (emphasis added)

At a Thursday congressional hearing into the White House security breach that took place last week at the White House state dinner, Secret Service Director Mark Sullivan debunked the reports by CNN and The Boston Globe. Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton, a member of the Congressional Black Caucus, asked Sullivan if additional safeguards were taken at the state dinner given the reports by CNN and The Boston Globe. She said: "It is well known, it's been in the press over and over again, that this president has received far more death threats than any president in the history of the United States." Director Sullivan responded: "I've heard a number out there that the threat is up by 400 percent. It isn't .... The threat right now ... is the same level as it has been for the previous two presidents...."

Source(s):

Bender, Brian. "Secret Service strained as leaders face more threats," The Boston Globe
Condon, Stephanie. "Secret Service: Threats Against Obama No Higher than Normal," CBS NEWS
"Newsroom Transcript (August 28, 2009)," CNN

Published by J.C. Grant

A writer interested in education, finance, health, history, law, music, polemics, politics, satire, sports, statistics, travel, and trivia. View profile

Obama Death Threats Falsely Reported by CNN's Rick Sanchez, Says Secret Service Director

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