The New York Times is coming under fire by allies of Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao for rehashing old allegations against her and then concluding in an editorial, “There is no evidence that Ms. Chao has broken any laws.”
Transportation insiders and political supporters of Chao, and husband Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, called an editorial published today “fake news media harassment.”
The report goes over old territory that the secretary believes has been asked and answered. In criticizing the Times, her allies were venting frustration with the repetition of the attacks.
It raised questions from the House Oversight and Reform Committee about the number of times she has met with officials from her home state of Kentucky and her family ties to a Chinese firm.
The editorial, headlined, “Elaine Chao, Mitch McConnell and Questions of Conflict,” used 974 words to say, “Congress wants answers from the transportation secretary, wife of the Senate majority leader, about the apparent mixing of public and family business.”
But by the time it got to word No. 920, it said, “There is no evidence that Ms. Chao has broken any laws.”
Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform, condemned the editorial as a rehash of old, noncontroversial news meant as a “smear job.”
Noting the “no evidence line,” he said the Times was “admitting there’s no there there.”
He also praised Chao as one of the administration’s “greatest” for being a key deregulator, and he added that her eight years as former President George W. Bush’s labor secretary was also good for the country.
A department spokesman called it “groundless partisan harassment.” A spokesman added, “The New York Times’ and congressional Democrats’ recycling of one another’s already discredited accusations is transparently political. The department has been forthcoming, every question has been answered, and every accusation refuted.”
Lisa B. Nelson, the CEO of the American Legislative Exchange Council, told Secrets, “Elaine Chao has been a tireless public servant for decades and it is a shame that people are trying to divert attention from their own issues when it has been clearly stated that there is no evidence of wrongdoing on her part.”
One of the concerns raised about her is the large number of times she meets with Kentuckyians.
A spokesman said, “There’s nothing unusual or untoward about a secretary seeing people from her home state. There is no financial interaction between the secretary and her family’s company. Even though the Department’s Ethics Officer said there is no conflict of interest, the secretary sold her shares in Vulcan Materials,” a local firm.
Norquist suggested that the real target is McConnell, up for reelection and criticized by liberals and the media for pushing through President Trump’s judges, especially two on the Supreme Court.
“Basically they wrote a TV ad that an opponent would use,” he said.
