CNN did not report that an ex-boyfriend of Christine Blasey Ford sent the Senate Judiciary Committee a sworn statement alleging the California professor lied under oath when she publicly accused Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault. But the outlet did report that a friend of Ford’s, Monica McLean, who was mentioned in the statement, called the ex-boyfriend’s claims “completely false.”
The article, which contains multiple spelling and grammatical errors at the time of this writing (e.g., “The new allegation against Ford also come as…”) and contained even more when it was published earlier Wednesday afternoon, appears to be a hastily written counter to the ex-boyfriend’s sworn statement.
In that statement, the ex-boyfriend claimed Ford had helped McLean prepare for a polygraph test she was taking as part of her interview with the FBI and U.S. Attorney’s office. The ex also said Ford never mentioned a fear of flying or a need for multiple doors due to any kind of anxiety.
The letter contains no corroborating information, but hasn’t been given the amount of coverage that a letter from an ex-girlfriend of Kavanaugh’s would receive if she were claiming he lied under oath. Nor has it received the amount of coverage from former classmates paraded on the network to claim Kavanaugh drank more than he let on in his Senate testimony.
CNN also reported that McLean told the outlet “that she is furious that her reputation is now being called into question by a ‘lie’ that has thrust her into the national spotlight.” CNN has previously criticized Kavanaugh for reacting angrily to the multiple uncorroborated allegations of sexual misconduct lodged against him, which he maintains are untrue.
The ex-boyfriend’s name was redacted in his sworn statement to senators and he refused to speak to CNN about his letter, but the media outlet published his name anyway. There’s no way they would do the same to someone accusing Kavanaugh of lying.
CNN previously threatened to out someone who created a gif that showed President Donald Trump knocking someone out who had the outlet’s logo placed over their head.