Koch Attorney Slams Bashir: ‘Way Your Network’ Treated Us ‘Led to Death Threats Against Our Owners’
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/noel-sheppard/2012/05/17/koch-brothers-attorney-msnbcs-bashir-way-your-network-treats-us-has-l#ixzz1vJgAWoEh
NEWSBUSTERS — Noel Sheppard
Following some tense pleasantries, the MSNBC anchor asked if the Koch brothers support Stand Your Ground laws.
Holden said the company he represents were “falsely associated” with those laws by MSNBC’s Karen Finney acting as a guest host for Bashir recently.
Not surprisingly, Bashir quibbled about Holden’s description of Finney as a paid Democratic strategist. “She has not been paid a cent since 2009.”
“Okay,” responded Holden, “then she’s an unpaid strategist who sends fundraising letters on behalf of the Democrats.
As KochFacts.com noted on April 18, “on March 26, Ms. Finney signed and sent a letter on behalf of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee soliciting political contributions.”
This seemed to stun Bashir a bit as facts always do.
Behind the Scenes at MSNBC
http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2012/05/behind-the-scenes-at-msnbc.php
POWERLINE — John Hinderaker
In fact, Koch has never had anything to do with gun laws, in Florida or anywhere else, except for a single occasion when the company lobbied against a proposal in Florida to legalize bringing guns to work. The claim that the brothers or their company had something to do with the Trayvon Martin case was simply insane.
So a colloquy between Koch and MSNBC followed. It culminated in MSNBC’s invitation to have a representative come on the Martin Bashir show to discuss the incident. Koch’s general counsel, Mark Holden, accepted the invitation and was on Bashir’s program yesterday. There were some real fireworks, as Mark began by talking about MSNBC’s false allegations, and later pointed out that such scurrilous attacks have led to numerous death threats against the Koch brothers.
Will the Anti-Koch Brigade Boycott MSNBC?
http://blog.heritage.org/2012/05/22/will-the-anti-koch-brigade-boycott-msnbc
HERITAGE FOUNDATION BLOG – Lachlan Markay
Is cable news network MSNBC complicit in the death of Trayvon Martin? The suggestion, of course, is absurd. But under the same logic that liberals have used to tie Koch Industries to the Martin shooting, companies like General Electric and Comcast—owners of MSNBC—would be just as responsible.
The issue arose during a testy interview on MSNBC last week between commentator Martin Bashir and Mark Holden, general counsel for Koch Industries. Karen Finney, a substitute host on Bashir’s program, had previously suggested that Koch Industries, because it supports the American Legislative Exchange Council, had a role in Martin’s death.
ALEC has been falsely tied to passage of Florida’s stand-your-ground law, invoked by neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman in his defense in the Martin case. But what Bashir didn’t appear to realize is that MSNBC’s parent companies, like Koch, are ALEC members.
Koch Bros. Lawyer Faces Off Against Martin Bashir: Treatment Of Kochs In ‘Far-Left Media’ Is ‘Irresponsible’
http://www.mediaite.com/tv/koch-bros-lawyer-faces-off-against-martin-bashir-treatment-of-kochs-in-far-left-media-is-irresponsible/
MEDIAITE — Noah Rothman
Holden said that what happened to Martin was a tragedy and it is “despicable that anyone—regardless of their political affiliation—would try to gain some political gain” by linking the Kochs to that incident. He said that the Kochs took exception to Finney’s characterized of them as the “Typhoid Mary” that spread Stand Your Ground laws.
He went on to chastise Finney and MSNBC as a network for editorializing against the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), which has many corporate members. Holden said that MSNBC’s corporate parents, General Electric and Comcast, are members of ALEC. He also said that no one, including ALEC and the Kochs, were involved in the passage of Stand Your Ground laws in Florida.
Koch Bros Lawyers Destroys MSNBC’s Bashir
http://www.breitbart.com/Breitbart-TV/2012/05/20/Koch-Bros-Counsel-Destroys-MSNBC-Bashir-On-Own-Show
BREITBART
Koch Brothers Lawyer Mark Holden To Martin Bashir: MSNBC’s Coverage Has Led To ‘Death Threats’ Against My Clients
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/18/martin-bashir-koch-brothers-attorney_n_1526869.html
HUFFINGTON POST MEDIA
Martin Bashir had an extremely contentious exchange with lawyer Mark Holden on Thursday, when Holden alleged that MSNBC’s coverage has led to death threats against his clients.
Holden, the attorney for David and Charles Koch, appeared on Bashir’s show in attempt to correct what he said were misrepresentations of his clients’ involvement with Stand Your Ground laws. The legislation has been scrutinized in the wake of Trayvon Martin’s killing in Florida. In March, MSNBC guest host Karen Finney said that the Koch brothers were part of the “Thphoid Mary” that supported those laws.
Holden was ready to hit back at the segment on Thursday, launching into a fierce critique of Finney and MSNBC. He said that the Koch brothers were “associated falsely” with the laws.
He also attacked Finney’s allegation that the American Legislative Exchange Council — an organization that Koch Industries, along with MSNBC’s parent companies General Electric and Comcast, belongs to — had a hand in the legislation. “We weren’t involved in any way in the Stand Your Ground laws on any level,” he said. “The law in Florida pre-existed before anything ALEC did on the issue.”
