CNN was forced to issue an embarrassing correction to a story Thursday that falsely claimed Democratic Rep. Ted Lieu of California “grabbed a crowbar” during the Capitol incursion last week, when he actually grabbed a ProBar, an organic plant-based meal bar.
CNN reporters Jeremy Herb, Phil Mattingly, Lauren Fox and Manu Raju pieced together quite a timeline of the events of the incursion — and Lieu’s role during the chaos — in a web story published on Thursday. The story outlined how the incursion led to a second impeachment.
“[Lieu] was forced to evacuate his office in the Cannon Office Building as insurrectionists converged on the Capitol. Grabbing a ProBar energy bar in his office, Lieu said he and his chief of staff called the top aide to [Democratic Rep. David Cicilline of Rhode Island] while wandering the halls and asked if they could hunker down in Cicilline’s office in the Rayburn House Office Building,” the CNN report said after the correction.
The network originally committed a blinding error, though, which could have led readers to believe that the congressman was bravely attempting to ward off those who breached the Capitol building, when he was actually just in need of a snack.
A correction on the story clarified that Lieu had previously been described as having grabbed a crowbar instead of his ProBar.
“CORRECTION: A previous version of this story misstated that Rep. Ted Lieu grabbed a crowbar before leaving his office. He grabbed a ProBar energy bar,” the correction reads.
The far-left network was obliterated online by people who did not give its reporting a pass for apparently inadvertently portraying Lieu as a heroic symbol of defiance to those who eventually breached the House chamber.
This really happened. @CNN issued a correction because the story they published said Congressman Ted Lieu grabbed a crowbar…..upon further top notch reporting it was revealed to be a ProBar energy bar. #factsfirst H/t @SteveKrak pic.twitter.com/Z1qJTrpH7L
— Sean Spicer (@seanspicer) January 14, 2021
This CNN correction has made my morning pic.twitter.com/FOw54PBgIi
— Tina Jordan (@TinaJordanNYT) January 14, 2021
.@CNN again proves their unparalleled journalistic abilities. At the end of this piece they let us know-
"CORRECTION: A previous version of this story misstated that Rep Ted Lieu grabbed a crowbar before leaving his office. He grabbed a ProBar energy bar."https://t.co/eLM0bAVnku— Lee Camp [Redacted] (@LeeCamp) January 14, 2021
Correction of the year https://t.co/LBs6qi5uY2
— Zachary Fryer-Biggs (@ZachFB) January 14, 2021
And here I thought @tedlieu was going the way of John Wick over there https://t.co/CglX059vE8
— Josh Jordan (@NumbersMuncher) January 14, 2021
I'd like to think that, had I reported this story, that I would stop and think: Wait, why would Ted Lieu have a crowbar in his office?
In reality, this is the very definition of too good to check. https://t.co/zdeSSu1KKL— Mike DeBonis (@mikedebonis) January 14, 2021
The CNN story clarifies that Lieu was apparently never in any danger at all.
“Cicilline and Lieu were not on the floor when the House abruptly went into recess as hundreds of violent protesters surrounded the chamber due to to social distancing rules that limited how many lawmakers were present.”
Apparently it was after grabbing the meal bar that Lieu, joined by Cicilline, promised Democrats would again impeach President Donald Trump.
“As Trump failed to call off the mob with his tweets, [Cicilline and Lieu] vowed to try to remove the President from power for a second time,” CNN reported.
It appears that while he never held a blunt defensive object, Lieu was never in any danger of starving.
With regard to the ProBar energy bar the Democrat was apparently wielding, the company states its products are “delicious, on-the-go, plant-based food that is essential for a healthy and balanced life.”
Story cited here.