NBC’s Anchor Brian Williams Exposed as a Congenital Liar

Brian Williams Admit He’s a Liar LIVE on TV

Usually, we expect those in the media whom we invite into our homes to present the “news” to uphold the highest standards of journalistic integrity. Well, this story goes to show that we may be kidding ourselves when we give any kind of credit to the man appearing on the tube.  On Wednesday night, the world we live in became a confusing and unfamiliar place and most of us wandered the land not knowing what to believe when Brian Williams admitted that he was never in a chopper that was hit by RPG fire in Iraq in 2003.  Brian was actually safely traveling in a different chopper. How can we believe anything now that Brian Williams has dribbled out lies to us? When Brian Williams says, “Good evening, I’m Brian Williams and this is the Nighty News,” do we know for sure it’s the evening and that it’s a good evening and that his name really is Brian Williams? Is that picture of Brian Williams’ supposed bulge a picture of his actual bulge or did he just stuff his khakis with the sack he keeps his lies in? Everything is squint-worthy now!!!

After getting called out on the lie he told, Brian said in Wednesday night’s broadcast of the NBC Nightly News that he “misremembered” the whole thing. Here’s Brian Williams’ apology in case you missed it:

Brian Williams also apologized on Facebook for the now-debunked story. “I feel terrible about making this mistake, especially since I found my OWN WRITING about the incident from back in ’08, and I was indeed on the Chinook behind the bird that took the RPG in the tail housing just above the ramp,” Williams wrote on Facebook. [12]  Williams’ apology comes after NBC News aired a tribute last Friday to a retired soldier who provided security for the downed choppers that night in Iraq.”[8] His embellishment of his helicopter journey and questions about his other reporting undermined the trust viewers placed in him.  [7] In the six days since he admitted his mistake, he was pilloried relentlessly online, with Twitter feeds mocking him and amateur truth squads investigating his past reporting. Almost none of his peers in the news business came to his support. [7]

Pushing Brian Williams off the Cliff

Bernard Goldberg, who wrote a book on bias at CBS News, while appearing on Fox News Channel’s “The Kelly File,” said there are two possible explanations for Williams’ stories: “One is that he’s delusional. I mean, that’s a mental illness. And the other is that he just flat-out lies a lot.”  If he simply lies a lot, it’s because that’s what celebrities do all the time, Goldberg said. “They go on TV shows, and they make up stories, because in the United States of entertainment, the country in which we all live, being uninteresting is the greatest sin you could commit,” he said. But celebrities get away with it because no one cares, he said. “And I think, unless he’s delusional … he lied the way celebrities always lie.” Goldberg told Kelly he had expected Williams to weather the storm until the story made the front page of The New York Times, essentially giving the rest of the media permission to pile on.

Many of Williams’ colleagues believe his claim that he simply “conflated” two versions of what happened in 2003. “There have been meetings about it all day. They are taking it very seriously,” the NBC source said. [11] “But we believe that Brian’s apology on the air speaks for himself. He admitted over time he conflated the events.” NBC brass hasn’t been talking to lower-level employees about the situation, leaving people in a panic, the insider said. [11] “NBC bosses don’t understand how serious this is. Nobody in a leadership position is talking to the troops. Nobody has addressed it,” the source said. [11] One longtime NBC employee who has worked with Williams on several occasions had a few dirty words to describe the celebrated anchor, calling him a “real pompous piece of s–t.”  [11] “He’s an a–hole,” he fumed. “He’s not a journalist. He’s a reader. [11]

Tom Brokaw Want Him Fired

You know you’re in trouble when Tom Brokaw is out for your blood. [11] An NBC News source tells Page Six that Brian Williams is not going to be suspended or punished in any way. Brian told the story many times and the top hos at NBC News knew he was lying and allegedly asked him to stop. They think the events of that day got tangled up in his brain and he got confused over the years. But Tom Brokaw apparently isn’t so forgiving. NBC’s most revered journalist is furious that Brian Williams is still in the anchor chair after he sheepishly admitted he hadn’t traveled on a helicopter hit by enemy fire.  [11] A source says that Tom Brokaw is the Salome to Brian Williams’ John the Baptist:

Brokaw wants Williams’ head on a platter. He is making a lot of noise at NBC that a lesser journalist or producer would have been immediately fired or suspended for a false report. [11]

When asked Brokaw denied the rumor. “I have neither demanded nor suggested Brian be fired,” Brokaw said in an email to The Huffington Post. “His future is up to Brian and NBC News executives.” [11]

Brian Williams Takes Himself Off the Broadcast

The anchor sent a note to the show’s staff, announcing that Lester Holt is replacing him for an unspecified amount of time.  He has since taken a leave of absence from NBC and has even cancelled a planned appearance on the ‘Late Show with David Letterman.'[5]   In a memo to staff on Friday, NBC News Deborah Turness wrote that a team of people was working to “make sense” of the incident. “There have been meetings about it all day. They are taking it very seriously,” the NBC source said. [10]  Williams’ message can be seen, below.

In the midst of a career spent covering and consuming news, it has become painfully apparent to me that I am presently too much a part of the news, due to my actions. [13]

As managing editor of NBC Nightly News, I have decided to take myself off of my daily broadcast for the next several days, and Lester Holt has kindly agreed to sit in for me to allow us to adequately deal with this issue. Upon my return, I will continue my career-long effort to be worthy of the trust of those who place their trust in us. [13]

Brian Williams is Suspended

Brian Williams has been suspended for six months without pay, the network said on Tuesday night (Febuary 10 2015). “This was wrong and completely inappropriate for someone in Brian’s position,” Deborah Turness, the president of NBC News, said in a memo. Lester Holt, who stepped in for Mr. Williams this week, will continue as the substitute, the network said. [10] Mr. Williams was informed of his punishment Tuesday morning when he went to the Upper West Side apartment of Stephen P. Burke, the chief executive of NBC Universal. Only the two men were present, according to a person briefed on the meeting, and Mr. Burke informed Mr. Williams that NBC had decided to suspend him. The “Nightly News” staff learned about it in a meeting after the evening broadcast. [10]  The suspension culminated a rapid and startling fall for Mr. Williams, who at age 55 was not only the head of the No. 1 evening news show, but also one of NBC’s biggest stars, a frequent celebrity guest on “Saturday Night Live,” “30 Rock” and the late-night talk show circuit. [10] Mr. Williams has been drawing 9.3 million viewers a night, and his position seemed unassailable. Even as the stature of the nightly newscast faded in the face of real-time digital news, Mr. Williams was one of the most trusted names in America and commanded the respect accorded predecessors like Walter Cronkite, Tom Brokaw and Peter Jennings. [10]

“I don’t know how he can ever read the news with a straight face, or how the public will respond if he does,” said Mark Feldstein, a broadcast journalism professor at the University of Maryland. On the other hand, he added, “Maybe they’re hoping that with a six-month cooling-off period, he’s got a loyal fan base.” [10]

CNN’s Brian Stelter said he was shocked by the six-month suspension, and said viewers likely expect Williams never to return. [3]  “Six months is such a long period of time that this will become permanent with Lester Holt,” Stelter said on “Anderson Cooper 360.”   [3] Holt has been filling in for Williams since Monday after Williams suspended himself. The Drudge Report on Tuesday reported that “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie was topping the list of replacements. “Does he come back and if he does, does it dredge everything up again?” asked the Hollywood Reporter’s Marisa Guthrie. [3]

“By his actions, Brian has jeopardized the trust millions of Americans place in NBC News,”  Stephen P. Burke, the chief executive of NBC Universal said in a statement. “His actions are inexcusable and this suspension is severe and appropriate.”  Mr. Burke said that Mr. Williams “has shared his deep remorse with me, and he is committed to winning back everyone’s trust.” He added, “He deserves a second chance, and we are rooting for him.” [10]  While management may not be revealing more until the investigation concludes, the Williams controversy is the talk of 30 Rock. Staffers are questioning whether he can weather the media storm and if he has enough allies to keep in him in the anchor desk. [14] A friend who spoke to Mr. Williams on Tuesday described him as “shattered.” [10]

Lie #1 – Flying into Iraq with SEAL Team Six

Williams has said on television multiple times that he flew into Baghdad with the Navy’s SEAL Team Six, which was responsible for carrying out the raid that killed Osama bin Laden, about three days after the US invaded Iraq, according to The Huffington Post. [15] He has also said he received a SEAL’s knife and a piece of the helicopter from the bin Laden raid as gifts. As far as The Huffington Post could tell, Williams started telling these stories only in 2011, the year bin Laden was killed. Williams reported from the Baghdad airport on April 9, 2003, more than three days after the invasion of Iraq, but he didn’t mention going anywhere with SEAL Team Six, possibly because he was told not to discuss their activities.  CNN analyst Peter Bergen said on “Anderson Cooper 360” that he was told by sources in the Seal community that it would be impossible for Williams to have ever traveled with Seal Team 6. [17]  The same source, US Special Operations Command spokesman Ken McGraw, while talking to The Huffington Post said that these stories seemed implausible, saying the organization did not “embed journalists with this or any other unit that conducts counter-terrorism missions.”  [15] NBC has not confirmed whether Williams’ stories about SEAL Team Six are accurate. [16] In the case of the memorabilia that Williams says he received from “his friends” in the Seal community: “that doesn’t pass any sniff test,” another Seal officer told Bergen. [17]

Lie #2- Being in Berlin the Day the Wall Fell

Williams said in 2008 that he “was at the Brandenburg Gate the night the wall came down,” but that is most likely an exaggeration, as CNN reports.  [17] Although Williams was in Berlin in 1989 to report on the fall of the Berlin Wall for WCBS-TV in New York, Tom Brokaw was the only American anchorman to report live from the scene the night the wall actually fell on November 9, CNN notes.  [17] Williams has said publicly that he didn’t arrive at the wall until 12 hours after Brokaw, but it seems as if in some retellings of the story he has misspoken about when he actually arrived on the scene. [16]    “But I got there, and I have my own piece of the wall, my own piece of that memory that I’ll always hold tight to,” he added.  Other times, Williams has arguably conflated his experience with that of Brokaw’s. [17]