Rove Super-PAC: Smear First, Get Answers Later

US Secretary of Commerce John Bryson. Official portrait

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Secretary of Commerce John Bryson was involved in a series of car accidents in California on Saturday, and allegedly left the scene of one of them, Reuters and other news wires report. It’s not publicly known what caused these incidents, but police have said that so far “there is no indication that alcohol or drugs played a role in the collisions.” That didn’t stop American Crossroads, the GOP super-PAC advised by Karl Rove, from recklessly speculating. Progressive Media’s Josh Dorner grabbed a screenshot of a tweet from the group (it has since been deleted):

Bryson’s spokeswoman says he had a seizure, and Bryson has been released from a hospital after spending the night there. Jonathan Collegio, a spokesman for American Crossroads, has since apologized for the tweet, saying the hashtag he used “attempted levity” but “communicated poorly.”

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“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things they don’t like—which is most things that are true.

No one gets to tell Mother Jones what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

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