David Brock, one of Hillary Clinton’s most prominent defenders and founder of the liberal Media Matters, admitted on Tuesday that he has not read a new book on Clinton that he and his organization have been highly critical of.
“How can you push back [against the book]?” asked MSNBC “Morning Joe” host Mika Brzezinski. “The book’s not out yet.”
“The book isn’t out yet and I haven’t read it,” Brock admitted. “I give you that point.” He then went into a series of accusations against the motives and credibility of the book’s author, Peter Schweizer.
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The book, “Clinton Cash,” attempts to prove that Clinton and her nonprofit Clinton Foundation offered political favors when she was secretary of state in return for donations from foreign governments. It publishes on May 5.
“David, are you more interested in knowing whether the allegations, as laid out in the book, are true or impugning the author?” asked Bloomberg Politics editor Mark Halperin, who was on the show as a guest.
Brock said he wanted the facts of the book to come out but said he’s “also interested in the author’s history,” which he said is riddled with credibility issues.
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“Should we be focused on the truth or lack of truth of what [Schweizer] is saying rather than running through his bio,” Halperin pressed Brock, who was once a fierce opponent of the Clintons. “For instance, your bio is something some people consider controversial but when you put ideas forward we like to just talk about the ideas your’e putting forward, not revisit every thing you’ve ever done.”
It was reported Monday that the New York Times, Fox News and the Washington Post have partnered up with Schweizer to gain access to his research for the book.
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“I think this is a political put-up job, and I can smell it a mile away,” Brock said of the book. He said, however, that scrutiny should be paid to Clinton’s actions during her tenure at the State Department.
“We kind of can’t,” said Brzezinski, referring to the controversy over Clinton’s exclusive use of a personal email address and Web server, when she was secretary of state. “Because what should be in the public record or at least be viewed by the State Department has been scrubbed.”
