We’ve already had one story today about AOC based on that weird creep who was heckling her yesterday. As Karen pointed out, that same guy has been heckling Dan Crenshaw and Ted Cruz previously so those three now have something in common. But today I came across another thread AOC posted yesterday which I think is very revealing. Here she is attacking the Washington Post and fact-checker Glenn Kessler for daring to check to the facts of a story.

This column is horrifying. Kessler contacted the reporter demanding sensitive info about their sourcing, which they have a responsibility to protect esp in a case like this. He wanted the child’s location (!!) & contacted CHILD SERVICES to find it.

How was any of this approved??

— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) July 13, 2022

Kessler wasn’t treating the story as false, he was treating it as unverified because, at the time, there was only one source and no clear evidence which corroborated the story (such as an arrest for rape). That’s literally his job! But of course she couldn’t stop there. In that second tweet she calls the fact-check “horrifying” and implies that Kessler’s story was a threat to the victim. First she says he “demanded” sensitive sourcing. He’s what Kessler actually wrote: “The story’s lead reporter, Shari Rudavsky, did not respond to a query asking whether additional sourcing was obtained.” That’s it. He asked the adult reporter an adult reporter question and she didn’t reply.

Then AOC adds “He wanted the child’s locations (!!)…” making it sound as if he was trying to get the victim’s home address so he could dox her or maybe even publish it. But that’s completely misleading. Again, here’s what Kessler wrote [emphasis added]: “Bernard declined to identify to the Fact Checker her colleague or the city where the child was located. ‘Thank you for reaching out. I’m sorry, but I don’t have any information to share,’ she said in an email.” Why did Kessler want the city where this happened? So he could try to identify if there had been an arrest record or public report that would corroborate the story.

As a spot check, we contacted child services agencies in some of Ohio’s most populous cities, including Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati, Dayton and Toledo. None of the officials we reached were aware of such a case in their areas.

So, that’s all this was. Kessler is trying to confirm the story without doxing or harming the victim in any way. In fact, this is exactly how the story was ultimately confirmed. Another paper published word of an arrest in Columbus, Ohio along with the name of the accused rapist. That’s all Kessler was trying to do here.

But AOC still isn’t done. She’s keeps going, implying that Kessler has it out for this 10-year-old girl. Here she says he was trying to get “sensitive information” about here and then claims he “cast aspersions” on her. Neither claim is true. In fact, so far as I know, the victim hasn’t spoken to anyone. Kessler isn’t questioning her, he was trying to corroborate the story of an adult doctor who was the only source at the time.

At this point a “technically I’m covered” doesn’t cut it.

Those involved, including the leaders who published, should take true accountability for harm. What went wrong & what will change?

This is disturbing and raises real questions regarding WaPo’s coverage of assault & abuse

— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) July 13, 2022

Finally, AOC winds this thread up by suggesting that the “leaders” by which I guess she means the editors at the Post who allowed this should “take true accountability for harm.” What harm exactly? Kessler said the story hadn’t been corroborate and wouldn’t be until there was an arrest or another source and that’s exactly what we got yesterday. No one was harmed by an honest effort to confirm the story. But if you’re on the far left, no accusation is complete without a vague allegation of harm.

Regular readers know I’ve disagreed with Glenn Kessler many times. In fact, I’ve been disagreeing with him publicly for almost 10 years at this point. He’s a big boy and he can take it. But what AOC has done here goes beyond criticism of his facts and choices. She’s just outright misleading people about what he did and why he did it. She’s framing this as if he’s some rando trying to dox a child and that’s just not true. She owes Kessler an apology, but my advice to Kessler is not to hold his breath waiting for it.