Miller Turned to Breitbart to Promote Political Agenda
Before the 2016 election, White House senior policy adviser Stephen Miller frequently gave editorial instructions to Breitbart News, a Hatewatch review听of his emails determined.
Miller emailed then-Breitbart News editor Katie McHugh a post from conservative pundit Mickey Kaus criticizing Marco Rubio鈥檚 GOP presidential run on Feb. 6, 2016, a little less than two weeks after joining Donald Trump鈥檚 campaign, saying someone needed to aggregate the piece for the site.
Aggregation in journalism happens when writers turn other outlets鈥 stories, opinion pieces or social media posts into new stories for their publications. Hours later, Breitbart published an article headlined 鈥.鈥
Miller viewed the highly trafficked Breitbart as a way to promote his nativist, anti-immigration policies and to attack political enemies before millions of readers. And, while politicians and their staff commonly seek to influence news coverage, the dynamic on display in Miller鈥檚 emails to Breitbart suggests the conservative outlet was 鈥渘ot playing by the same rules that legitimate news organizations play by,鈥 said Kyle Pope, editor-in-chief of the听.
鈥淭his is not remotely how a professional news organization functions,鈥 Pope told Hatewatch, regarding Miller鈥檚 often-direct editorial instructions. 鈥淲hat is scary here is Trump, and his team, and also Trump supporters 鈥 hold up this kind of cheerleading news organization as an example of how journalism should be done, and it鈥檚 clearly not.鈥
The emails examined by Hatewatch demonstrate a pattern of influence by Miller. On April 10, 2016, he sent an email with the subject line 鈥渁ggregate?鈥 to Breitbart with a tweet by conservative commentator Matt Drudge. In , Drudge questioned the integrity of Colorado鈥檚 Republican caucus system in which 听won a majority of delegates and which Trump had criticized as being 鈥.鈥 Breitbart soon turned Drudge鈥檚 tweet into the story Miller apparently envisioned, 鈥
Breitbart editors introduced Miller to McHugh in early 2015 to help shape her journalistic output, she told Hatewatch. At the time, Miller was an aide to then-U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama. McHugh leaked to Hatewatch more than 900 of her previously private email conversations with the current White House senior adviser. In them, Miller appears to behave like an uncredited editor 鈥 periodically suggesting where stories should be placed on Breitbart鈥檚 homepage.
Miller suggested such a placement on the Hillary Clinton-focused story, 鈥溾 in May 2016:
Miller, May 21, 2016, 12:11 a.m. ET: 鈥淢ake sure this is put in lede.鈥
McHugh, May 21, 2016, 12:12 a.m. ET: 鈥淚t鈥檚 top right.鈥
McHugh told Hatewatch that by 鈥渢he lede,鈥 Miller meant the story on Breitbart鈥檚 website most prominently showcased to readers. McHugh told Hatewatch that Breitbart management knowingly allowed her to defer to Miller.
鈥淏oth as an aide to Sen. Sessions and an adviser to Trump, Stephen Miller frequently dictated the editorial direction of Breitbart News to me,鈥 McHugh said. 鈥淣o one at Breitbart ever raised a question about whether this was ethical.鈥
McHugh, who 听from Breitbart in 2017, told Hatewatch she took her position there 10 months after graduating from college. At 23, McHugh said, she did not immediately comprehend the degree to which the website鈥檚 interactions with Miller might prove unusual by traditional journalistic standards.
McHugh told Hatewatch she did not remember being privy to an email discussion on Oct. 3, 2015, in which Breitbart agreed to publish a press release authored by Miller under the generic byline Breitbart News. Miller conversed with Breitbart Washington political editor Matthew Boyle in the email about how to apply a byline to the post. Then-Breitbart chief Steve Bannon, Sessions aide Garrett Murch, McHugh and three other Breitbart employees were copied on the email.
Boyle, Oct. 3, 2015, 8:40 p.m. ET: 鈥淎lso how should we run this? Under Senator Sessions鈥 byline? Or under 鈥楤reitbart News鈥 byline?鈥
Miller, Oct. 3, 2015, 8:42 p.m. ET: 鈥淚 think Breitbart News. Then it can be introduced as something shared exclusively with Breitbart by the Senate鈥檚 Subcomittee [sic] on Immigration and the National Interest, with the graphic and explanatory text underneath.鈥
Boyle, Oct. 3, 2015, 8:43 p.m. ET: 鈥淕reat. Guys I will prepare this [post] in the morning for launch tomorrow on the [Breitbart radio] show.鈥
Miller, Oct. 3, 2015, 8:47 p.m. ET: 鈥淔antastic. I鈥檒l be standing by to assist however I can. I think this is one of the best demonstrations we鈥檝e come up with so far to demonstrate the true scope of immigration.鈥
The email conversation resulted in the Oct. 4, 2015, Breitbart post titled 鈥溾
Miller frequently suggested story ideas to Breitbart directly from Sessions鈥 office. In another example, Miller sent a July 6, 2015, email from his government address to McHugh and Boyle with the subject line, 鈥渋llegal immigrant child sex offenders.鈥 He attached a 19-page document labeled 鈥淐hild Sex Offenders,鈥 which he said was a list of undocumented people who were accused of child molestation and other abuses.
Miller, July 6, 2015, 6:34 p.m. ET: 鈥淎rticles compiled by our staff. Didn鈥檛 get from me.鈥
McHugh did not reply to Miller鈥檚 email about child sex offenders and told Hatewatch she did not remember whether or not she used the list.
Pope noted that Breitbart has lost readers since Trump took office, which the Columbia Journalism Review 听using data from the analytics company Comscore. Breitbart reached more than 12 million unique visitors per month at the time Trump declared his candidacy and had 18 million-plus unique visitors when he won the Republican nomination in July 2016, the Comscore data showed. By May 2019, Breitbart鈥檚 monthly unique visitors had dropped to under 5 million per month, Comscore found.
Breitbart readers in 2015 and 2016 took in something that was more akin to propaganda than journalism, said Tom Bivins, an ethics professor at the School of Journalism and Communication at the University of Oregon in Eugene. Miller was manipulating Breitbart, he said.
The White House did not respond to multiple requests for comment regarding Hatewatch鈥檚 investigation. Bannon also did not respond to two requests for comment on this report. Bannon assumed the role of executive chair at Breitbart News in 2012 following the death of conservative publisher and founder Andrew Breitbart. Bannon was in that job when these emails were sent that Hatewatch acquired. Larry Solov became president and CEO of the news website after Breitbart鈥檚 death.
Elizabeth Moore, a spokeswoman for Breitbart News, responded to Hatewatch鈥檚 request for comment about Miller鈥檚 relationship with editors at the website with the following statement:
The 澳彩开奖 claims to have three- to four-year-old emails, many previously reported on, involving an individual whom we fired years ago for a multitude of reasons, and you now have an even better idea why we fired her. Having said that, it is not exactly a newsflash that political staffers pitch stories to journalists 鈥 sometimes those pitches are successful, sometimes not.
It is no surprise to us that the 澳彩开奖 opposes news coverage of illegal-immigrant crime and believes such coverage is disproportionate, especially when compared to the rest of the media, which often refuse to cover such crimes.
Miller focused strongly on the subjects of race and immigration in his emails to Breitbart News and shared white nationalist and other extremist content to inform McHugh鈥檚 reporting, Hatewatch reported听Nov. 12.
The two also sometimes discussed what words to use in reporting to make their anti-immigration pitch with greater efficacy. In a July 6, 2015, email to McHugh and Boyle with the subject line 鈥渓anguage,鈥 Miller tested out a potential strategy for portraying those opposed to his views as being in support of unlimited immigration.
Miller, July 6, 2015, 6:43 p.m. ET: 鈥淚 think the words 鈥榠mmigration reform鈥 should be redefined as meaning 鈥榠mmigration control鈥 and those who oppose 鈥榠mmigration control鈥 as proponents of mass immigration.鈥
The email is noteworthy because the White House 听鈥 even though the term inaccurately describes their stated policies. McHugh appeared to agree with Miller听later in an email marked 鈥淯nlimited vs mass immigration.鈥
McHugh, July 8, 2015, 4:33 p.m. ET: 鈥淚鈥檓 going to start saying 鈥榰nlimited immigration鈥 instead of mass immigration for the most part. 鈥楳ass鈥 implies there might be an end in sight. But what the Left wants is zero restrictions, period.鈥
Miller expanded on how he felt rhetoric should be adjusted to make a better pitch to the public:
Miller, July 8, 2015, 5:05 p.m. ET: 鈥淎greed. I also think the words immigration reform should be used exclusive [sic] to describe proposals to limit immigration. Rubio is an extremist who wants unlimited immigration, the American people are moderate and want to hit pause after the deluge.鈥
Miller called for negative coverage of other Trump opponents in emails to Breitbart, but he most commonly focused his attacks on Rubio, the U.S. senator from Florida.
In a March 30, 2015, email to McHugh and Boyle with the subject line 鈥淩ubio [campaign] to launch April 13th,鈥 Miller wrote a single line of guidance for approaching the candidate鈥檚 forthcoming run: 鈥淪tress [the] symbolic importance of immigration.鈥
From then on, Miller repeatedly pushed for unfavorable reporting of Rubio鈥檚 campaign, lambasting him with derisive commentary. Here are 10 examples of Miller taking aim at Rubio in his emails to Breitbart:
- 鈥淏een a long time since anything anti-rubio was pub鈥檇鈥 鈥 April 29, 2015
听 - Subject line: 鈥渢his is how it begins,鈥 with a link to a 听called 鈥淐an Marco Rubio Save the GOP in 2016?鈥 about diversity in the GOP presidential field 鈥 June 9, 2015
听 - 鈥淩ubio needs to be hammered on [the immigration bill] I-squared. Will send you some articles in about 15 minutes.鈥 鈥 July 7, 2015
听 - 鈥淛ust a reminder that Rubio's bill would have legalized tens of thousands of the most dangerous criminal aliens, including gang members, sex offenders, and those with multiple criminal convictions.鈥 鈥 July 21, 2015
听 - 鈥#rubiosnewamericancentury鈥 鈥 referring to a Breitbart story about an undocumented man who was accused of . 鈥 Aug. 5, 2015
听 - 鈥淸E]veryone - everyone - afraid to attack Rubio. Everyone.鈥 鈥 Aug. 10, 2015
听 - 鈥淎lso, a good chance to re-use that [activist Sara] Blackwell quote about Rubio being a liar. He invents facts to hurt Americans, seems to be the trend.鈥 鈥 Dec. 2, 2015
听 - 鈥淭he only difference between Jeb [Bush] and Rubio is Jeb is honest and Rubio is pathological.鈥 鈥 Dec. 2, 2015
听 - 鈥淚f Rubio is the future of the [Republican] party, then there is no future and there is no party. Just a corporation called the RNC.鈥 鈥 Dec. 3, 2015
听 - 鈥淚n a sense [the Rubio campaign is] the easiest con [that] has ever been run. I mean if you were to design in a lab the instrument of the GOP's destruction, this is exactly what you鈥檇 come up with and it isn't very hard. Have you enough time to do a short 鈥榌National Review editor Rich] Lowry Says Rubio The Future Of The GOP, Ignores Continued Support For Mass Immigration & Muslim Resettlement[?]鈥 Also: why does Lowry think all of these open borders billionaires are backing Rubio. For fun?鈥 鈥 Dec. 3, 2015
When 听of the race March 15, 2016, McHugh openly rejoiced in an email with the subject line 鈥淩ubio out.鈥
McHugh, March 15, 2016, 8:27 p.m. ET: 鈥淭hank God and thank God for Sen. Sessions, you, [Sessions aide] Garrett [Murch], [Breitbart editor] Julia [Hahn], Matt [Boyle] and the whole team. MAGA!鈥
Miller, March 15, 2016, 8:34 p.m. ET: 鈥淭丑补苍办蝉!!鈥
Similarly, when Trump became the , McHugh emailed Miller with the subject line, 鈥淢AGA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!鈥
McHugh, May 3, 2016, 8:33 p.m. ET: 鈥!!!!!!!!!!!鈥
Miller, May 3, 2016, 8:39 p.m. ET: 鈥淎惭贰狈!!!鈥
Reporters covering politics are expected to be unbiased and 听so as to avoid conflicts of interest, according to the Society of Professional Journalists. McHugh acknowledged to Hatewatch that she was ideologically driven and failed to meet these standards.
She told Hatewatch that Breitbart鈥檚 environment was inherently partisan and focused on shaping the outcome of the Republican primaries.
鈥淲ithin Breitbart News鈥 internal Slack channels, we debated whether to support Trump or Cruz,鈥 McHugh recalled to Hatewatch. 鈥淚 supported Trump. Rubio was reviled, and reporters and editors brainstormed ways to craft a narrative that would harm his candidacy.鈥
Miller, for his part, understood that as long as Breitbart pulled in readers, he could use it to affect politics. On Aug. 7, 2015, he emailed four Breitbart News editors 鈥 McHugh, Bannon, Hahn and Boyle 鈥 marking it with the subject line 鈥淲arning: rubio ressurrection [sic] begins.鈥
Miller鈥檚 email, following the first GOP debate, , credited Breitbart for derailing the so-called . Co-sponsored by Rubio, Gang of Eight was a bipartisan immigration bill that passed 听in 2013 before dying in the . Nativist and anti-immigration activists fiercely opposed the bill because of its emphasis on providing undocumented immigrants a pathway to U.S. citizenship.
Miller started the conversation by expressing his concerns that conservative pundits would protect Rubio during the nomination fight, and highlighted examples from Fox News, the National Review and the Washington Examiner to make his case. Bannon replied one minute later:
Bannon, Aug. 7, 2015, 3:10 p.m. ET: 鈥淪o let's get serious about this. I want to CALL fox OUT on this.鈥
McHugh, Aug. 7, 2015, 3:24 p.m. ET: 鈥淚t鈥檚 truly disturbing how [Fox News is] trying to act like Gang of Eight never happened.鈥
Boyle, Aug. 7, 2015, 3:25 p.m. ET: 鈥淢e and Julia [Hahn] are working on something big.鈥
Bannon, Aug. 7, 2015, 3:27 p.m. ET: 鈥淕谤别补迟.鈥
Miller, Aug. 7, 2015, 3:29 p.m. ET : 鈥淭he only reason the Gang of Eight passed the Senate is because of Fox. I know, I was there. This was my life every day, 24-7.鈥
Boyle, Aug. 7, 2015, 3:39 p.m. ET: 鈥淚 was there too. And yes you are right.鈥
Miller, Aug. 7, 2015, 3:43 p.m. ET: 鈥淚f not for Breitbart, the bill would have become law.鈥
Boyle, Aug. 7, 2015, 3:44 p.m. ET: 鈥淵ep. It鈥檚 crucial we save America right now. I'm leaving it all on the field.鈥
Bannon, Aug. 7, 2015, 3:45 p.m. ET: 鈥凄颈迟迟辞.鈥
Bannon returned to the thread with an order:
Bannon, Aug. 7, 2015, 3:45 p.m. ET: 鈥淟et鈥檚 go buck wild on this.鈥
McHugh, who has since renounced far-right politics, told Hatewatch that it鈥檚 clear to her now that Breitbart wasn鈥檛 meeting the standards of ethical journalism.
鈥淐alling it 鈥榥egligence鈥 is stretching the word to the extent of its most charitable definition,鈥 McHugh told Hatewatch of the editorial process at Breitbart. 鈥淚t should raise significant alarm that an organization consistently manipulated coverage out of public eye in order to influence a political party鈥檚 primary while insisting it was objective.鈥
Photo illustration by 澳彩开奖