(updates below)
L’Affaire Debat is not a movie. Yet. Though the curious case of Alexis Debat – former longtime ABC News terrorism analyst, contributing journalist and prominent news source - could be someone’s first draft screenplay before all the questions surrounding the story are unraveled (if they ever are).
Before jumping into some of this scandal's many unanswered and unasked questions, here’s a brief recap of the back story (full background is here,here,here and here).
- Alexis Debat, who’s been ABC News’ go-to guy since October 2001 for all things “war on terror”-related, including high-profile stories on Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan, was “discreetly dismissed” in June by ABC News after it couldn’t confirm credentials on his resume, primarily his purported Ph.D. from the Sorbonne.
- The French news site Rue89 reported on September 7 that Debat had fabricated an interview with Senator Barack Obama in the Summer 2007 issue of the French magazine Politique Internationale (in which he quoted Obama as saying the Iraq War was "a defeat for America”). He conducted other alleged interviews for the same publication with Former President Bill Clinton, Senator Hillary Clinton, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, former Secretary of State Colin Powell, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Microsoft founder Bill Gates and former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, all of which were subsequently confirmed to have been fabricated as well.
- After Rue89 journalist Pascal Riché broke the story, ABC News made an official announcement it had forced Debat to resign in June, saying it had investigated his reports at the time but would undertake a new investigation, reviewing all stories in which Debat played a hand. Additionally, Riché’s story also revealed that Debat never received a Ph.D. from the Sorbonne, and debunked Debat’s claim that he served as an advisor to the French Ministry of Defense on transatlantic issues – he was an intern for five months in 2000 (since 2001, Debat has often been identified as a former French Defense Ministry official or analyst in U.S. media).
- Debat’s close association with neocon think-tanks, publications, editors and luminaries rounds out this rough back-story: he served as a Senior Fellow for National Security and Terrorism at the Nixon Center (before resigning last Wednesday) and a regular contributor to the Nixon Center’s foreign policy magazine The National Interest (its honorary chairman is Henry Kissinger) and the aforementioned Politique Internationale (at which prominent neocon Amir Taheri functioned as its longtime editor).
And now for those questions:
The Ethics Behind ABC News’ Use of Debat
1) How could ABC News and Brian Ross, who led the investigative unit under which Debat worked, not realize this was a serious breach of journalistic standards?
In her article for Mother Jones, journalist Laura Rozen (who’s led the way in covering and breaking parts of this story in the U.S.) sums up ABC News’ inherent ethical breach:
But in ABC's use of Debat as a paid “consultant" who also had for the past year and a half an appointment at the Nixon Center, ABC also frequently had him reporting on its blog, the Blotter, and appearing as a "source" inside others' stories, blurring the line between source (and a paid one at that, with outside -- also paid -- affiliations) and a journalist, not clearly identified in the report. ABC also sent Debat frequently abroad, to gather information which he would put on the air and on the investigative unit's website.
While the focus of this scandal has so far been largely on uncovering Debat’s deceptions (pertaining to his credentials and the credibility of the stories in which he played a role), no one duped ABC News and Ross into running their investigative unit in such a dubious, unprofessional manner. In fact, in choosing to do so, they arguably paved the way for someone like Debat to take advantage of the situation.
2) How many people at ABC News are culpable in sanctioning this shady news-gathering process?
Certainly Brian Ross, who, even though he worked very closely with him for years, has made this all about Debat. But what about his longtime producer Rhonda Schwartz? Or ABC World News anchor Charles Gibson, on whose nightly newscast Ross often appeared with a big scoop obtained through these unsound channels? As yet, no one at ABC News has taken responsibility for establishing and maintaining the environment in which Debat operated.
The Right Guy for the Job?
1) How did Alexis Debat, with no prior viable journalism experience of any kind, wind up in a position at ABC News in which he was investigating and reporting on such high-profile stories? Who made the call to hire him, and why?
Forget for a moment that Debat’s most impressive alleged credentials are all bogus (in reality, he’s a short-lived French Defense Ministry intern with no Ph.D. from the Sorbonne, who fabricated interviews with nine world leaders). Even in his fantasy resume, nothing would have prepared him adequately for his investigative role at ABC News - those interviews were his sole link to any viable journalism. Factor in they're fake and his lack of experience is breathtaking, which leads to a logical follow-up…
2) Did Debat fabricate those interviews to bolster his journalism credentials and credibility?
The question keeps coming up: why would Debat take such a risk? Why not just be happy with his plum (if unethical) role at ABC News? But had Debat actually conducted those interviews, it surely would’ve lent more credence to his standing as a national and international journalist, especially in context of his flimsy experience. And, not that ABC knew about the faked interviews (no one has concluded whether it did or not), but, had the interviews occurred, Debat’s employers at ABC might well have welcomed this shot-in-the-arm to his thin journalism portfolio.
In addition to his lack of experience, his deep neocon ties may be another reason behind the make-believe interviews: sit-downs with such high-profile leaders – and not a neocon or even traditional conservative among them – might have been viewed as a deft way to play down his undeniable but below-the-rader neocon partisanship. A buffer, possibly, for both ABC News and Debat against potential future accusations of institutionalized bias. (Saving up for that rainy day that's now come to pass.)
3) Did anybody at ABC News check Debat’s credentials before, first, relying on him as a source and, subsequently, hiring him as an analyst and contributing reporter? If so, who?
As journalist Laura Rozen notes, “In fact, the French news service AFP reported as far back as 2002 that according to the French government, Debat had never been a defense ministry official.”
A former U.S. government officer also told Rozen that he warned "a top ABC producer last year who called him for some reason, that Debat 'is a phony.'" (Incidentally, this producer, Rhonda Schwartz, Brian Ross’ longtime producer, is the same person who is now being dispatched to verify Debat’s sources in Pakistan.) Schwartz explained to Rozen that “she recollects the conversation” but framed her description of it by focusing on the fact that he told her “Debat is not former French intelligence,” ignoring the radioactive term "phony" and all of its implications.
Schwartz went on to say that ABC, at the time of the call, already knew Debat was a “former French Ministry Defense desk officer.” Another frame that misleadingly paints Debat’s, albeit downgraded, role in a more positive light. “Officer” retains the air that Debat, who was nothing more than a lowly intern for five months, held a position of authority at the French Ministry of Defense. Clearly, ABC News would be sensitive on this point (think of the multitude of stories over the last six years in which it's misrepresented Debat to millions of its readers and viewers). Thinking you're getting terrorism analysis from an officer is one thing, but an intern? Schwartz's words appear deliberate.
Putting on the Brakes, Taking off the Blinders
1) When did ABC News put Debat "under review"? And for how long? During this time, was Debat still contributing to ABC News as he had since 2001-2002?
Schwartz also tells Rozen this conversation happened when Debat was “already under review by ABC.” But Debat was still contributing to stories as late as May 14, 2007 and was forced to resign in June. After a conversation with Schwartz, Rozen’s U.S. government source agrees with Rozen's timing of when the conversation took place.
But the timing seems very questionable.
It’s highly unlikely that Rozen's government source, when speaking with Schwartz to confirm their initial conversation, confused one year’s time with that of only four months. So if that’s not the case, then Schwartz, wittingly or unwittingly, seems to imply that ABC News had put Debat “under review” much earlier than it is letting on. If so, why would it continue to rely on him in the same capacity as it had for the previous six years during the review?
2) How could someone who forged something as public as an interview with a world leader (several of them) be expected to operate ethically in the shadowy world of anonymous sources on a national security, counter-terrorism beat?
After Rozen picks apart an ABC News story (one of the most dubious of Debat's tenure) about a Pakistani guerrilla organization called Jundulla, she perfectly encapsulates not only why Debat has lost all credibility but the patently unscrupulous methods at the heart of this scandal:
Are Debat's interviews with tribal sources -- which form the very essence of this report -- any more real than his interviews with Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Alan Greenspan, Nancy Pelosi, and Kofi Annan? The evidence says no. History shows no. Knowledgeable regional experts say no. That people who fabricate something as easily, provably deniable as an interview with Senators and presidential candidates and the UN Secretary General cannot be trusted to be telling the truth about what the Pakistani tribal sources are telling them is, of course, obvious. The capacity for an extraordinary degree of mendacity demonstrated by Debat claiming to have conducted such high profile fake interviews speaks for itself.
Notice nowhere in the above report does a US or other official confirm what Debat is providing and the story is asserting. And that ABC used Debat as the channeled reporter on the main substance of the piece, providing the information from the tribal sources, and then featured him as a confirming commenter/analyst in the report. It's a sleight of hand an ordinary viewer might not have noticed, but nevertheless not worthy of a serious news organization that cares about telling its viewers and readers the truth.
In other words, if you remove the information provided by Mr. Debat in this report, and his presence in the report as an expert analyst, there would be nothing there but background information on Jundullah, and U.S. officials denying the report.
In an email I received yesterday, a veteran mainstream journalist with investigative experience on the domestic “war on terror” beat said of the Debat affair:
To say the least, that beat [Debat's] is tailor-made for flimflam artists as sources. An overly credulous reporter can get in a lot of trouble very fast. (What's the definition of an "exclusive"? A story no one else wanted/trusted.)
It's an apt preface to this revelation in Rozen's Mother Jones piece:
Two journalists familiar with Debat's work point to ABC chief investigative correspondent Brian Ross not only as the victim of Debat's alleged deceptions, but as an enabler, who has promoted sensational stories—including some that Debat brought the network—at the expense at times of rigorous journalism standards.
3) Why didn’t ABC News thoroughly investigate Debat’s work directly prior to, or right after, his forced resignation in June?
ABC News says it did. Yet all indications (which include word from sources inside ABC) are that it did little more than uncover Debat’s false Ph.D. claim before letting Debat walk off quietly into the sunset and acting as if their whole shady but mutually beneficial relationship had never existed.
Of course, ABC News had as much, if not more, to lose than did Debat if his questionable work and ABC’s unethical methods met with a full-court press. Debat, back off the radar as he was prior to 9/11, would probably hunker down in another think-tank and, as he’s already done, find work as well as other receptive media outlets searching for a partisan “expert” to quote. But ABC News, if it failed to place all the blame on Debat (as it appears to be trying to do), would suffer a serious blow to its already flagging credibility.
A Post-9/11 Star Is Born
Is Debat, a self-proclaimed terrorism "expert,” merely a creation of 9/11? And (putting aside his resume's fictions) how did ABC News come to rely on someone so lacking even in his alleged prior terrorism analysis expertise?
A Nexis search (courtesy of Philadelphia Daily News journalist and Attytood blogger Will Bunch) turns up only one citation with Debat’s name prior to 9/11. Yet, suddenly, starting on October 4, 2001, he’s being quoted by ABC News as a “former French defense official,” who’s among “French investigators” and “French officials” that captured a “notebook full of secret codes” through which the 9/11 hijackers “may have communicated over the Internet.” Said Debat in his first ABC News article, "This code book is [sic] major breakthrough in the investigation.” On November 28 that same year, Debat’s quoted again for another sensational ABC News story on a “suspected hijack associate” arrested in Germany.
And on and on it goes until September 5, 2002, when Debat, having been quoted and used as a source for multiple post-9/11-related stories for the rest of 2001 and much of 2002, finally officially earns the title “ABC News consultant” in addition to “former French Defense Ministry official” in a story about how Zacharias Moussaoui, the infamous “20 hijacker” - according to “French intelligence authorities,” which in this case appears to be, well, Debat – was actually “part of a second wave of suicide hijackings planned for early 2002 in Europe and the United States.” From there, Debat’s presence in Ross’ investigative units’ stories grew as he eventually began writing and presenting some of them as well, rounding out the curious role of analyst, source and reporter, that would carry him through the next five years.
To Remove, Or Not To Remove
What differentiates the few stories ABC News has removed from its website in which Debat played a role from the over 45 remaining stories to which Debat contributed?
As Brian Ross said, Debat's lying about his Ph.D. credentials “called into question, of course, everything he had done.” What’s more, of those nearly 50 stories still remaining on ABC News’ website (at last check), Debat is variously the sole or contributing journalist to a report, an author of news analysis, an attributed source, an anonymous source, or a simultaneous mix of two or more of these roles in the same story. (If only Peter Sellers were alive to play Alexis Debat.)
Debat’s confirmed deceptions, coupled with revelations of his deep neocon ties, would, indeed, seem to call into question everything he's done and said as an investigative reporter, a source, and an analyst. Thus, it would be naive or intellectually dishonest to not think the handful of stories scrubbed from ABC News' website are but the tip of the iceberg here for Debat's gamesmanship. (And forgive me if I’m a bit skeptical that ABC removed them solely on the basis they didn't meet its rigid journalistic standards.)
Moreover, in the cases where Debat is giving an opinion in the role of terrorism analyst, it’s not merely a question of ABC News corroborating evidence. As a think-tank neocon posing as a nonpartisan terrorism expert, his inherent conflict of interest must also be taken into account. Such dressed-up propaganda, which accumulatively can determine whether there is peace or war between nations, has no place in any respectable news organization.
Stay Tuned, Folks...
Again, just some of the many questions that need to be addressed. New ones will, of course, arise as more is revealed. In the coming days, it's vital for those of us following and covering this scandal to not lose sight of ABC News' culpability in creating and sanctioning the environment for Debat's deceptions to flourish. ABC News' problem is systemic, institutional, and won't be solved by Debat's departure and his public rebuke. Failing to hold ABC News accountable will only serve to foster future Alexis Debats. He should be held to account, too. But this man was no lone wolf.
That scenario would be more fantastic than any story, resume or interview fabricated by Alexis Debat.
UPDATE: Excellent follow-up by Rozen on Debat's claim to have received "a large chunk of money" from the Pentagon for a study on radical Islam.
UPDATE II: Rozen tells me that the AP report stating Debat was an intern for five months at the French Defense Ministry is not accurate. According to Rozen's sources, Debat had an 8-10 month desk job there and was a contractor but had a salary, office, etc. Though she does confirm that Brian Ross' longtime producer Rhonda Schwartz appears to have embellished Debat's position in ascribing the word "officer" to his title at the Defense Ministry - a word that by its very meaning denotes a position of authority. The Defense Ministry made it clear that Debat "was never part of the Ministry," so that he was an "officer" of any sort seems highly unlikely. Rather, it appears Schwartz purposely chose this word because, considering Debat's flimsy experience (aside from his fabrications), it's a description that, of course, benefits ABC News.
UPDATE III: Well, it's certainly not the only thing the AP got wrong in that report. I forgot to mention this doozy of an error (emphasis mine):
Alexis Debat, who was fired by the TV network last year, quit a Washington think tank on Wednesday after being accused of faking an interview with Barack Obama.
Actually, Debat was fired (or forced to resign) just this past June. How did the AP manage to be off by roughly three-quarters of a year on one of the most basic details of this story? You got me.
Meanwhile, this woefully sloppy error (which, over a week later, apparently hasn't been caught by anyone at the AP), precedes this (emphasis mine):
The AP quoted Debat in stories in 2001 and 2004.
He was quoted in 2001, identified as a former French Defense Ministry analyst, a former French Defense Ministry official and as a U.S. desk officer for the Defense Ministry until 2000.
In one story, he said the United States and France had increased their intelligence-sharing.
He was the main source for another story in which he said police had found a notebook with codes that could help decipher messages within Osama bin Laden's terrorist network.
He was identified as a terrorism consultant in a 2004 story about CIA Director George Tenet's resignation. He was quoted as saying Tenet had a reputation as a yes-man for President Bush.
The AP has launched a review of the stories in which he provided information.
Let's hope the AP's review is more carefully and professionally executed than this story it filed on Debat.
UPDATE IV: Don't miss the latest - ABC News spokesman unwittingly reveals more.
ABC-Debat Scandal, Unaswered and Unasked Questions
Posted by: MediaBloodhound | September 18, 2007 at 03:51 AM
The dishonesty of the Corporate Media is astounding. And that it is employed in such obviously partisan terms to fool the rubes is mind boggling.
ABC News knew exactly who and what they were buying.
To you and Ms. Rozen, keep on digging.
Posted by: King Quaker | September 18, 2007 at 08:32 PM
Outstanding! This is what we need, more journalism and investigative stuff online. Love the site, adding to my blogroll. ABC continues to blow my mind, as does the rest of MSM. All of us are going to look back at the years following 9-11 (in media) with a less than fond attitude.
Posted by: Cris Seligman | September 26, 2007 at 02:39 PM
Thanks for your kind words and your blogroll add.
Posted by: MediaBloodhound | September 27, 2007 at 04:34 PM
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