June 1st, 2024 | Thomas Carter

Catch And Kill: Only OK When They Do It

Media and politicians have been doing this since the beginning of time.

The use of "catch and kill" tactics by political campaigns is an obviously widespread practice that has, without much doubt, been employed by numerous politicians and media organizations to silence and discredit potentially damaging news stories and scandals. This practice involves paying individuals or organizations to keep sensitive information confidential, using legal threats and expensive lawfare, and having individuals agree to a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) or other legally binding confidentiality agreements. Most commonly, it is when questionable media companies purchase stories with the intention of killing them. It was hardly anything new or unusual within the corridors of Washington DC and Hollywood, until Donald Trump was accused of doing it.

Donald Trump has now become the first "felon" to run for office. He is now the first president to have been convicted of doing something other presidents and powerful people have done. Besides being the first president tried and indirectly convicted of "election interference" in one of the most obscure and vaguely defined trials in American history, another "crime" has bubbled to the surface. 

The term "catch and kill" refers to the strategy of catching and killing a story before it can be published or widely disseminated. This can be done by offering a large sum of money to the individual or organization in possession of the information, or by using other forms of persuasion or intimidation to silence them.

It has undoubtedly been used by numerous political campaigns. For example, during Bill Clinton's 1992 presidential campaign, he was accused of using similar tactics to silence a former business partner who had information about his alleged infidelity. In 2003, the National Inquirer was accused of catching and killing a story about Arnold Schwarzenegger's extramarital affairs. In his 2009 book, Larry Sinclair claims Obama aid, David Axelrod, paid $750,000 to rig a polygraph test in order to discredit his allegation about having a sexual encounter with the president years earlier. Although his claims are dubious and questionable, such claims seem highly plausible within the realm of dirty politics.

Many of the plot twists and characters in House Of Cards were in fact inspired by true events and people.

The most notorious and heavily verified use of catch and kill was documented in Ronan Farrow's book, Catch And Kill: Lies, Spies, And A Conspiracy To Protect Predators. The book examines Harvey Weinstein's grip on Hollywood and his efforts to kill stories about his predatory behavior. The book highlights how far Weinstein and his friends went to cover up his crimes, up to and including hiring an Israeli intelligence service.

It is important to note Weinstein's success in keeping his crimes out of the public eye for nearly two decades.

The use of catch and kill tactics by political campaigns is often justified as a necessary evil to protect the candidate's reputation and to prevent the spread of false or misleading information. However, critics argue that this practice is unethical and can be used to silence legitimate whistleblowers and to prevent the public from knowing the truth.

The most recent example of the tactic being used by a political campaign is the 2016 presidential campaign of Donald Trump. Trump was accused of using the tactics to silence Stormy Daniels, a former adult film star who claimed that she had an affair with Trump in 2006. Daniels alleged that Trump's associates had asked her to sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) in exchange for $130,000, and that she had been threatened and intimidated by Trump's lawyers to keep the story quiet.

During Trump's fraud trial, these allegations were picked up by media and portrayed as “election interference”.

The use of these tactics by political campaigns is a widespread practice that has been used by numerous politicians and media companies to silence and discredit potentially damaging news stories and scandals. Yet, it only now appears to be a serious offence because it was employed by Donald Trump.

Real Election Interference

When Hillary Clinton called Trump an illegitimate president and accused Russia of interfering in the 2016 presidential election, the mainstream media agreed with her. When Trump made claims that the 2020 presidential election was rigged, he was criminally charged and the media became frantic in their efforts to paint his actions as a crime. They have continued to push this narrative with the catch and kill revelations from Trump's fraud trial in New York.

As with most things that are unethical, they are only wrong when someone other than Democrats are doing them.

The most significant election interference taking place right now in America is the flood of illegal immigrants. In their attempts to rig the 2024 election, Democrats are defending open border policies that invite millions of undocumented migrants to live, work and vote in the United States. They have also gone out of their way to fight new voter ID laws in several states.

This summer, the Biden Administration plans to run a pilot program granting undocumented migrants with their own federal ID cards. In many local elections, Democrats have supported the voting rights of illegal and undocumented immigrants. In states like California and Vermont, undocumented citizens can now vote in local state elections.

The real election interference in America, as usual, is happening at the hands of Democrats.