The attack on the husband of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, which sparked establishment media indignation about right-wing rhetoric, happened more than a month ago, but the details of what transpired are still unclear. In fact, the media has made it more difficult to comprehend what transpired.
NBC News journalist Miguel Almaguer has not appeared on the network since covering the news on November 4, according to Fox News media reporter Brian Flood. Paul Pelosi reportedly opened the door for law enforcement, but he made no attempt to flee or signal to the responding police that he was in danger, according to Almaguer. Instead, he turned away from the police and headed in the direction of the suspected attacker, who then struck Pelosi with a hammer.
Since then, Almaguer has stopped appearing on the network’s broadcasts, and he hasn’t tweeted since November 3. The video of the report was removed by NBC from its website and Twitter feed. No reason has been provided for Almaguer’s extended absence other than the statement that “the item should not have aired because it did not follow NBC News reporting standards.”
Even while this is absurd on its own, it becomes stranger yet. Pelosi did, in fact, open the door for officers, according to NBC Bay Area’s report citing “a source familiar with the Pelosi probe who personally seen the body camera footage.” This appears to support the other information in Almaguer’s account, namely that Pelosi did not seek to flee or alert police to his safety. Why was it subpar if the body camera evidence appears to support Almaguer’s report?
Was it because the Justice Department of President Joe Biden stated that Pelosi wasn’t the one who opened the door but rather two police officers? Did NBC simply decide to punish its own reporter rather than criticize the Biden administration?
Here's the Paul Pelosi report from NBC's 'Today' show that's been scrubbed from their Twitter & site.
In it, Miguel Almaguer alleged police didn't know what was happening upon arrived & Paul didn't "declare an emergency," instead walked toward the suspect, away from police (1/2) pic.twitter.com/nWUyZdn75x
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) November 4, 2022
Despite their complaints about “misinformation” and conspiracy theories, mainstream media are effective at disseminating both. For instance, the New York Times said that Republicans were spreading false information about a “unknown person” opening Pelosi’s home’s door for the police after Politico claimed that a “unknown person” had done so. If anyone is promoting conspiracies surrounding this story, it’s mainstream media organizations like Politico and NBC News.
This is not to argue that the wilder ideas surrounding the Pelosi attack are true. However, it does raise some concerns regarding the reasons behind the establishment media’s decision to cover the attack in the manner they did (just prior to the midterm elections) and the criteria they actually use when reporting. Once again, establishment media have failed to adequately cover a significant news event, and no one in the sector is prepared to accept some reflection on why that occurred.
