Ocasio-Cortez rips NY Times for report on Hope Hicks’ subpoena
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez slammed the New York Times on Sunday, describing the newspaper’s treatment about whether former Trump administration staffer Hope Hicks would comply with a subpoena as “Hope’s Choice.”
“What gets me is news breaks that this woman is weighing committing a crime before Congress & it’s getting framed by the NYT as some Lifetime drama called ‘Hope’s Choice’ ” the New York Democrat wrote on Twitter. “This is a fmr admin official considering participating in a coverup led by the President. Treat her equally.”
The story published Thursday described Hicks, the former communications director, as one of the “best-known but least visible” members of the White House and said she faced an “existential question” about whether to obey the subpoena.
The House Judiciary Committee last Tuesday issued subpoenas for Hicks and Anne Donaldson, the ex chief of staff for former White House counsel Don McGahn to turn over documents and testify next month.
Ocasio-Cortez also joined with Soledad O’Brien, the former CNN anchor and current CEO of Starfish Media Group, to question the photo of Hicks published by the Times.
“This is a good example of bias in the @nytimes: a picture of a person who is considering not complying with a subpoena is basically a glam shot, and it’s framed as a thoughtful, perfectly equal choice,” O’Brien wrote on Twitter Sunday.
“Yup. Where’s the ‘no angel’ take now?” Ocasio-Cortez wrote in response to O’Brien’s tweet.
“In the immediate aftermath of shootings, media routinely post menacing photos of people-of-color victims + dredge up any questionable thing they’d ever done,” Ocasio-Cortez continued. “But when Hope Hicks considers not complying w a subpoena, it’s glamour shot time.”
The article comes as the White House has been defying subpoenas from congressional committee investigating the Trump administration.
McGahn blew off a subpoena to testify before the House Judiciary Committee last week after the Trump administration said he had “immunity.”
House Democrats are also considering dates for when the full House chamber would vote to hold Attorney General William Barr in contempt for not turning over to Congress a full, unredacted version of special counsel Robert Mueller’s report.
The New York Times did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
