Miller Turned to Breitbart to Promote Political Agenda
Before the 2016 election, White House senior policy adviser Stephen Miller frequently gave editorial instructions to Breitbart News, a Hatewatch reviewĚýof his emails determined.
Miller emailed then-Breitbart News editor Katie McHugh a post from conservative pundit Mickey Kaus criticizing Marco Rubioâs GOP presidential run on Feb. 6, 2016, a little less than two weeks after joining Donald Trumpâs campaign, saying someone needed to aggregate the piece for the site.
Aggregation in journalism happens when writers turn other outletsâ stories, opinion pieces or social media posts into new stories for their publications. Hours later, Breitbart published an article headlined â.â
Miller viewed the highly trafficked Breitbart as a way to promote his nativist, anti-immigration policies and to attack political enemies before millions of readers. And, while politicians and their staff commonly seek to influence news coverage, the dynamic on display in Millerâs emails to Breitbart suggests the conservative outlet was ânot playing by the same rules that legitimate news organizations play by,â said Kyle Pope, editor-in-chief of theĚý.
âThis is not remotely how a professional news organization functions,â Pope told Hatewatch, regarding Millerâs often-direct editorial instructions. âWhat is scary here is Trump, and his team, and also Trump supporters â hold up this kind of cheerleading news organization as an example of how journalism should be done, and itâs clearly not.â
The emails examined by Hatewatch demonstrate a pattern of influence by Miller. On April 10, 2016, he sent an email with the subject line âaggregate?â to Breitbart with a tweet by conservative commentator Matt Drudge. In , Drudge questioned the integrity of Coloradoâs Republican caucus system in which Ěýwon a majority of delegates and which Trump had criticized as being â.â Breitbart soon turned Drudgeâs tweet into the story Miller apparently envisioned, â
Breitbart editors introduced Miller to McHugh in early 2015 to help shape her journalistic output, she told Hatewatch. At the time, Miller was an aide to then-U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama. McHugh leaked to Hatewatch more than 900 of her previously private email conversations with the current White House senior adviser. In them, Miller appears to behave like an uncredited editor â periodically suggesting where stories should be placed on Breitbartâs homepage.
Miller suggested such a placement on the Hillary Clinton-focused story, ââ in May 2016:
Miller, May 21, 2016, 12:11 a.m. ET: âMake sure this is put in lede.â
McHugh, May 21, 2016, 12:12 a.m. ET: âItâs top right.â
McHugh told Hatewatch that by âthe lede,â Miller meant the story on Breitbartâs website most prominently showcased to readers. McHugh told Hatewatch that Breitbart management knowingly allowed her to defer to Miller.
âBoth as an aide to Sen. Sessions and an adviser to Trump, Stephen Miller frequently dictated the editorial direction of Breitbart News to me,â McHugh said. âNo one at Breitbart ever raised a question about whether this was ethical.â
McHugh, who Ěýfrom Breitbart in 2017, told Hatewatch she took her position there 10 months after graduating from college. At 23, McHugh said, she did not immediately comprehend the degree to which the websiteâs interactions with Miller might prove unusual by traditional journalistic standards.
McHugh told Hatewatch she did not remember being privy to an email discussion on Oct. 3, 2015, in which Breitbart agreed to publish a press release authored by Miller under the generic byline Breitbart News. Miller conversed with Breitbart Washington political editor Matthew Boyle in the email about how to apply a byline to the post. Then-Breitbart chief Steve Bannon, Sessions aide Garrett Murch, McHugh and three other Breitbart employees were copied on the email.
Boyle, Oct. 3, 2015, 8:40 p.m. ET: âAlso how should we run this? Under Senator Sessionsâ byline? Or under âBreitbart Newsâ byline?â
Miller, Oct. 3, 2015, 8:42 p.m. ET: âI think Breitbart News. Then it can be introduced as something shared exclusively with Breitbart by the Senateâs Subcomittee [sic] on Immigration and the National Interest, with the graphic and explanatory text underneath.â
Boyle, Oct. 3, 2015, 8:43 p.m. ET: âGreat. Guys I will prepare this [post] in the morning for launch tomorrow on the [Breitbart radio] show.â
Miller, Oct. 3, 2015, 8:47 p.m. ET: âFantastic. Iâll be standing by to assist however I can. I think this is one of the best demonstrations weâve come up with so far to demonstrate the true scope of immigration.â
The email conversation resulted in the Oct. 4, 2015, Breitbart post titled ââ
Miller frequently suggested story ideas to Breitbart directly from Sessionsâ office. In another example, Miller sent a July 6, 2015, email from his government address to McHugh and Boyle with the subject line, âillegal immigrant child sex offenders.â He attached a 19-page document labeled âChild Sex Offenders,â which he said was a list of undocumented people who were accused of child molestation and other abuses.
Miller, July 6, 2015, 6:34 p.m. ET: âArticles compiled by our staff. Didnât get from me.â
McHugh did not reply to Millerâs email about child sex offenders and told Hatewatch she did not remember whether or not she used the list.
Pope noted that Breitbart has lost readers since Trump took office, which the Columbia Journalism Review Ěýusing data from the analytics company Comscore. Breitbart reached more than 12 million unique visitors per month at the time Trump declared his candidacy and had 18 million-plus unique visitors when he won the Republican nomination in July 2016, the Comscore data showed. By May 2019, Breitbartâs monthly unique visitors had dropped to under 5 million per month, Comscore found.
Breitbart readers in 2015 and 2016 took in something that was more akin to propaganda than journalism, said Tom Bivins, an ethics professor at the School of Journalism and Communication at the University of Oregon in Eugene. Miller was manipulating Breitbart, he said.
The White House did not respond to multiple requests for comment regarding Hatewatchâs investigation. Bannon also did not respond to two requests for comment on this report. Bannon assumed the role of executive chair at Breitbart News in 2012 following the death of conservative publisher and founder Andrew Breitbart. Bannon was in that job when these emails were sent that Hatewatch acquired. Larry Solov became president and CEO of the news website after Breitbartâs death.
Elizabeth Moore, a spokeswoman for Breitbart News, responded to Hatewatchâs request for comment about Millerâs relationship with editors at the website with the following statement:
The ĂŰĚŇ´ŤĂ˝ claims to have three- to four-year-old emails, many previously reported on, involving an individual whom we fired years ago for a multitude of reasons, and you now have an even better idea why we fired her. Having said that, it is not exactly a newsflash that political staffers pitch stories to journalists â sometimes those pitches are successful, sometimes not.
It is no surprise to us that the ĂŰĚŇ´ŤĂ˝ opposes news coverage of illegal-immigrant crime and believes such coverage is disproportionate, especially when compared to the rest of the media, which often refuse to cover such crimes.
Miller focused strongly on the subjects of race and immigration in his emails to Breitbart News and shared white nationalist and other extremist content to inform McHughâs reporting, Hatewatch reportedĚýNov. 12.
The two also sometimes discussed what words to use in reporting to make their anti-immigration pitch with greater efficacy. In a July 6, 2015, email to McHugh and Boyle with the subject line âlanguage,â Miller tested out a potential strategy for portraying those opposed to his views as being in support of unlimited immigration.
Miller, July 6, 2015, 6:43 p.m. ET: âI think the words âimmigration reformâ should be redefined as meaning âimmigration controlâ and those who oppose âimmigration controlâ as proponents of mass immigration.â
The email is noteworthy because the White House Ěýâ even though the term inaccurately describes their stated policies. McHugh appeared to agree with MillerĚýlater in an email marked âUnlimited vs mass immigration.â
McHugh, July 8, 2015, 4:33 p.m. ET: âIâm going to start saying âunlimited immigrationâ instead of mass immigration for the most part. âMassâ implies there might be an end in sight. But what the Left wants is zero restrictions, period.â
Miller expanded on how he felt rhetoric should be adjusted to make a better pitch to the public:
Miller, July 8, 2015, 5:05 p.m. ET: âAgreed. I also think the words immigration reform should be used exclusive [sic] to describe proposals to limit immigration. Rubio is an extremist who wants unlimited immigration, the American people are moderate and want to hit pause after the deluge.â
Miller called for negative coverage of other Trump opponents in emails to Breitbart, but he most commonly focused his attacks on Rubio, the U.S. senator from Florida.
In a March 30, 2015, email to McHugh and Boyle with the subject line âRubio [campaign] to launch April 13th,â Miller wrote a single line of guidance for approaching the candidateâs forthcoming run: âStress [the] symbolic importance of immigration.â
From then on, Miller repeatedly pushed for unfavorable reporting of Rubioâs campaign, lambasting him with derisive commentary. Here are 10 examples of Miller taking aim at Rubio in his emails to Breitbart:
- âBeen a long time since anything anti-rubio was pubâdâ â April 29, 2015
Ěý - Subject line: âthis is how it begins,â with a link to a Ěýcalled âCan Marco Rubio Save the GOP in 2016?â about diversity in the GOP presidential field â June 9, 2015
Ěý - âRubio needs to be hammered on [the immigration bill] I-squared. Will send you some articles in about 15 minutes.â â July 7, 2015
Ěý - âJust a reminder that Rubio's bill would have legalized tens of thousands of the most dangerous criminal aliens, including gang members, sex offenders, and those with multiple criminal convictions.â â July 21, 2015
Ěý - â#rubiosnewamericancenturyâ â referring to a Breitbart story about an undocumented man who was accused of . â Aug. 5, 2015
Ěý - â[E]veryone - everyone - afraid to attack Rubio. Everyone.â â Aug. 10, 2015
Ěý - âAlso, a good chance to re-use that [activist Sara] Blackwell quote about Rubio being a liar. He invents facts to hurt Americans, seems to be the trend.â â Dec. 2, 2015
Ěý - âThe only difference between Jeb [Bush] and Rubio is Jeb is honest and Rubio is pathological.â â Dec. 2, 2015
Ěý - âIf Rubio is the future of the [Republican] party, then there is no future and there is no party. Just a corporation called the RNC.â â Dec. 3, 2015
Ěý - âIn a sense [the Rubio campaign is] the easiest con [that] has ever been run. I mean if you were to design in a lab the instrument of the GOP's destruction, this is exactly what youâd come up with and it isn't very hard. Have you enough time to do a short â[National Review editor Rich] Lowry Says Rubio The Future Of The GOP, Ignores Continued Support For Mass Immigration & Muslim Resettlement[?]â Also: why does Lowry think all of these open borders billionaires are backing Rubio. For fun?â â Dec. 3, 2015
When Ěýof the race March 15, 2016, McHugh openly rejoiced in an email with the subject line âRubio out.â
McHugh, March 15, 2016, 8:27 p.m. ET: âThank God and thank God for Sen. Sessions, you, [Sessions aide] Garrett [Murch], [Breitbart editor] Julia [Hahn], Matt [Boyle] and the whole team. MAGA!â
Miller, March 15, 2016, 8:34 p.m. ET: âTłó˛š˛Ô°ě˛ő!!â
Similarly, when Trump became the , McHugh emailed Miller with the subject line, âMAGA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!â
McHugh, May 3, 2016, 8:33 p.m. ET: â!!!!!!!!!!!â
Miller, May 3, 2016, 8:39 p.m. ET: âA˛ŃˇĄąˇ!!!â
Reporters covering politics are expected to be unbiased and Ěýso as to avoid conflicts of interest, according to the Society of Professional Journalists. McHugh acknowledged to Hatewatch that she was ideologically driven and failed to meet these standards.
She told Hatewatch that Breitbartâs environment was inherently partisan and focused on shaping the outcome of the Republican primaries.
âWithin Breitbart Newsâ internal Slack channels, we debated whether to support Trump or Cruz,â McHugh recalled to Hatewatch. âI supported Trump. Rubio was reviled, and reporters and editors brainstormed ways to craft a narrative that would harm his candidacy.â
Miller, for his part, understood that as long as Breitbart pulled in readers, he could use it to affect politics. On Aug. 7, 2015, he emailed four Breitbart News editors â McHugh, Bannon, Hahn and Boyle â marking it with the subject line âWarning: rubio ressurrection [sic] begins.â
Millerâs email, following the first GOP debate, , credited Breitbart for derailing the so-called . Co-sponsored by Rubio, Gang of Eight was a bipartisan immigration bill that passed Ěýin 2013 before dying in the . Nativist and anti-immigration activists fiercely opposed the bill because of its emphasis on providing undocumented immigrants a pathway to U.S. citizenship.
Miller started the conversation by expressing his concerns that conservative pundits would protect Rubio during the nomination fight, and highlighted examples from Fox News, the National Review and the Washington Examiner to make his case. Bannon replied one minute later:
Bannon, Aug. 7, 2015, 3:10 p.m. ET: âSo let's get serious about this. I want to CALL fox OUT on this.â
McHugh, Aug. 7, 2015, 3:24 p.m. ET: âItâs truly disturbing how [Fox News is] trying to act like Gang of Eight never happened.â
Boyle, Aug. 7, 2015, 3:25 p.m. ET: âMe and Julia [Hahn] are working on something big.â
Bannon, Aug. 7, 2015, 3:27 p.m. ET: âG°ůąđ˛šłŮ.â
Miller, Aug. 7, 2015, 3:29 p.m. ET : âThe only reason the Gang of Eight passed the Senate is because of Fox. I know, I was there. This was my life every day, 24-7.â
Boyle, Aug. 7, 2015, 3:39 p.m. ET: âI was there too. And yes you are right.â
Miller, Aug. 7, 2015, 3:43 p.m. ET: âIf not for Breitbart, the bill would have become law.â
Boyle, Aug. 7, 2015, 3:44 p.m. ET: âYep. Itâs crucial we save America right now. I'm leaving it all on the field.â
Bannon, Aug. 7, 2015, 3:45 p.m. ET: âĆŕžąłŮłŮ´Ç.â
Bannon returned to the thread with an order:
Bannon, Aug. 7, 2015, 3:45 p.m. ET: âLetâs go buck wild on this.â
McHugh, who has since renounced far-right politics, told Hatewatch that itâs clear to her now that Breitbart wasnât meeting the standards of ethical journalism.
âCalling it ânegligenceâ is stretching the word to the extent of its most charitable definition,â McHugh told Hatewatch of the editorial process at Breitbart. âIt should raise significant alarm that an organization consistently manipulated coverage out of public eye in order to influence a political partyâs primary while insisting it was objective.â
Photo illustration by ĂŰĚŇ´ŤĂ˝