Reporters are going a little bit nuts this morning over the Clinton campaign's decision to ban a pool reporter from that bastion of journalistic integrity, The Daily Mail. While I generally frown on banning reporters from anything, this case warrants an exception.
Here's the guy they banned, whose history includes a decade-long stint of sock puppetry on behalf of corporate interests everywhere -- Richard "Rick" Berman.
David Martosko's "professional" background is colorful, to say the least.
Before Martosko was exiled to The Daily Mail, he was the editor of Tucker Carlson's hack site, the Daily Caller. He set about the work of ratfcking with a purpose there, lying about Senator Robert Menendez and hookers in order to try and knock Menendez out of contention.
More of his resumé, via Mother Jones:
Before Daily Caller Editor in Chief Tucker Carlson hired him in 2011—a controversial choice given Martosko's previous arrests and lack of experience in journalism—Martosko spent a decade working for Richard Berman, a longtime PR operative behind a number of industry-backed campaigns. At Berman and Company, Martosko served as the director of research for the Center for Consumer Freedom, a Berman-run nonprofit that opposes new laws on food and beverages. CCF, which is funded by the food and beverage industry, runs Humane Watch, a website that posts derogatory information about the Humane Society of the United States. Martosko was the site's "founding editor." CCF also operates Activist Cash, a website that compiles biographical information on groups and individuals that engage in "anti-consumer activism."
What a guy.
Of course, the media outlets reporting Martosko's ban aren't mentioning his checkered past or why the Clinton campaign might not want a ratfcking acolyte of Richard Berman's on the campaign trail. No, they're just acting as his stenographer.
When Martosko showed up at their first event in Rochester, he said he was denied access inside the YMCA of Strafford County by a “Secret Service agent.” When he requested to use the restroom, the agent told him the area had already gone through a security sweep and he should “hit the woods.”
Give him a little more time. He'll invent a scandal somewhere.
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