Fox New Exec Admits to Lying About Obama's "Socialism"

It's becoming less and less shocking when Fox News just plain lies to its viewers, but far be it from us to not keep you abreast of when it happens.

Remember the smirking face you see above, as you should no longer trust what comes out of its mouth. That's Bill Sammon, Fox News' Washington editor and thus a mainstay talking head for the channel. Yesterday, Media Matters released an audio recording of Sammon (which you can listen to below) saying, plainly, that he repeatedly lied on the air about Barack Obama being a socialist during Obama's presidential run, just to be "mischievous."

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Here's the exact quote, taped on a conservative cruise to the Mediterranean in 2009: "Last year, candidate Barack Obama stood on a sidewalk in Toledo, Ohio, and first let it slip to Joe the Plumber that he wanted to quote, 'spread the wealth around.' At that time, I have to admit, that I went on TV on Fox News and publicly engaged in what I guess was some rather mischievous speculation about whether Barack Obama really advocated socialism, a premise that privately I found rather far-fetched."

There's a lot of dancing around reality in that passage, so let's be direct: Sammon lied to Fox viewers about Obama being a socialist, a claim Sammon didn't even believe himself, in order to sabotage Obama's campaign. Full stop.

The rest, as we know, is history: Obama won and today still struggles with ridiculous charges of being a socialist. Perhaps Sammon considers that a victory. Either way, the nation loses.