Did Fox News Bench Shepard Smith For Telling The Truth About Bowe Bergdahl?

Last Tuesday Fox News anchor Shepard Smith delivered a remarkable commentary in support of the traditional American values of “innocence until proven guilty” and respect for our nation’s defenders in the military. It was a striking departure from the talking points belched out by pretty much everyone else on Fox that have convicted Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl as a deserter, and even worse, an enemy collaborator, without even bothering to hear his side, much less have a trial. Smith said in part that…

“If you desert or commit treason, you have to be proved to have done so. We can’t just decide because some people come on television and yakkety-yak. […] As the Pentagon said, you bring them home first, and then you investigate.”

Fox News Shepard Smith

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These common sense thoughts should be the basis for every analysis of someone under suspicion of misbehavior, but especially so for someone who volunteered to serve in the Army during a time of war. Whether or not Bergdahl’s commitment to his platoon changed some time after he enlisted and deployed to Afghanistan is something that should be investigated, but the slanderous prejudgment that has become a mantra on Fox News is irresponsible and un-American.

The latest absurdity is that Fox is alleging that Bergdahl converted to Islam during his captivity and has joined his captors as a jihadist. It apparently never entered the abnormally diminutive minds of Fox News that Bergadahl might have been coerced, or he might have been faking it to avoid further mistreatment, or even that he might be suffering from Stockholm syndrome. In Fox’s world he is simply a traitor and no substantive evidence is required to convict him.

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Media Matters has put together this video that juxtaposes Smith’s commentary with the persistent blathering of his Fox News colleagues. It’s a revealing presentation that shows just how far Fox has stepped over the ledge of reason.

It is that tendency to wander off the ranch that likely resulted in Smith being demoted from his previous primetime slot to his current midday time period at 3:00 pm. And curiously, today Smith was not on the air at all. Filling in for him was the more reliably right-wing Harris Faulkner. Is Smith being silenced and/or punished for his independence? Time will tell.

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18 thoughts on “Did Fox News Bench Shepard Smith For Telling The Truth About Bowe Bergdahl?

  1. My gosh, this thread is idiotic. First of all, James Rosen made it clear on “The O’Reilly Factor” today that faking it, Stockholm syndrome, etc, were all distinct possibilities.

    “…Shepard Smith being demoted…”

    That lie was exposed a long time ago. Shepard Smith received a promotion that gives him a lot more internal responsibilites at Fox News.

    “And curiously, Shepard Smith was not on the air at all…”

    Oh, for the love of Pete, haven’t you ever taken a vacation day? I have noticed that both Diane Sawyer and Scott Pelley haven’t been on all this week at ABC and CBS. Are they being silenced and punished? Step away from the bong for once in your life.

    • haha yeah STEP AWAY FROM THE BONG FOR ONCE IN YOUR LIFE!!!! jesus, can nobody make a calm argument without resorting to random prejudices? Let’s pretend for a second that FOX has given Bergdahl complete respect and hasn’t prejudged him for political gain, even then, YOU are prejudging SOMEONE YOU DON’T KNOW.

    • My gosh your comment is idiotic. First of all, James Rosen saying something on The O’Reilly Factor today is only after six days of rabid smears and still doesn’t negate all the other hostile crap that is STILL being said about Bergdahl (and his family) on Fox 24/7 despite a total lack of evidence.

      And do you seriously believe Fox PR that moving from primetime to midday, and losing a separate daily hour show, is a promotion??? Sheesh. Any more “promotions” and he’ll be unemployed.

      Finally, if you don’t think that Fox punishes people who don’t toe the line, you don’t know Fox.

      • My comment is right on the money. And by the way, that thread from Gawker only proves that Gawker is even more worthless and dishonest of a website than yours.

        • I agree with you that that gawker article is b.s. and that shep smith wasn’t punished by fox for his comments. But your comment was not right on the money. Fox has been very disrespectful to Bergdahl, saying anything they can think of to make him seem unamerican and thus make Obama look bad. Sure, Smith has been a voice of reason and Rosen made a few reasonable comments, but other than that fox has been VERY VERY disrespectful and prejudicial towards Bergdahl solely for political reasons. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bqeZi0BOqnw

      • “Fox silencing Shep Smith!” kind of reminds me of the Phil Robertson drama which earned Phil a termination and which the liberals found to be quite alright! So, on the one hand we have the Obama folks and on the other hand we have at least six eye witnesses from the battlefield. The Left hand has proven itself again and again to be clueless while the soldiers in the foxhole have no dog in the politics of the matter and no reason to fabricate this story. Indeed, Sgt Bergdahl “admitted” leaving his post with the intention of finding the Taliban. Congratulations young man, you did it. Ultimately there must be a PROPER investigation and, if warranted, a trial. It is the American way. In the meantime keep your eyes open, y’all could learn something.

        • Sounds like you have already tried and convicted the man from the comfort of your computer keyboard. What a nice little armchair fascist you are.

  2. Scott on must have ordered, and received, his Fox ‘News’ blinders from the Bill-O patriot crap-factory.

  3. You were wrong, Scott. Must have been hitting the bong too hard…

  4. Faux News has tried , convicted and sentenced Bergdahl to death.In reality this is just another example of the despicable scum at Faux attacking the President. These bigoted,racist, flim- flam artists wouldn’t know the truth if it kicked them in their tiny cajones and they are still foaming at the mouth because a black man had the smarts to kick their asses in 2 elections. I would love to be in the room with a tape recorder when the Cock(Russian blood-money) brothers discuss the president. Now that would be real treason.

    • ditto, well said, treason is correct

  5. “…these bigoted, racist flim-flam artists…”

    Lie.

  6. If all of the commentators on FOX NEWS weren’t such brave war heroes and prisoners of war, one might question their bias. Cheney and Rush also.

  7. What I don’t get is, why doesn’t Shepard Smith leave Fox and go to a real news outlet?

    Well this being America, he’d have to look pretty hard to find one of those. But still, why does he stay with Fox?

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