http://mediamatters.org/blog/201010010049Time's up for O'Keefe: Breitbart seeks "explanation"
October 01, 2010 10:43 pm ET by Matt Gertz
Nearly 60 hours after CNN first detailed James O'Keefe and his cohorts' alleged plot to "get CNN Investigative Correspondent Abbie Boudreau onto a boat filled with sexually explicit props and then record the session," O'Keefe mentor Andrew Breitbart has (finally) stepped up to the plate and said that O'Keefe "owes his supporters an explanation."
In a statement splashed across the Big family of websites, Breitbart writes that he has long defended O'Keefe, but no longer:
However, in my dealings with Ms. Boudreau, she and her producer, Scott Zamost, conducted themselves professionally, and I believe James owes them a candid and public explanation.
From what I've read about this script, though not executed, it is patently gross and offensive. It's not his detractors to whom he also owes this public airing. It's to his legion of supporters.
A couple of points:
First, this is a big deal. A number of conservative media figures have come forth to condemn O'Keefe's alleged actions, but Breitbart has been O'Keefe's patron, providing him with a platform, paying him "a fair salary," and saying that he deserves a Pulitzer for his work. Now he's saying that he can no longer defend O'Keefe. If ANDREW BREITBART thinks you're so unprincipled that you're toxic...