Michelle Fields Speaks Out About Her Resignation From ‘Breitbart’
Michelle Fields, the former Breitbart News reporter who resigned after she was allegedly assaulted by Corey Lewandowski, Donald Trump’s campaign manager, is speaking out.
Last night, Fields appeared on The Kelly File with Ben Shapiro, the former editor-at-large at Breitbart News who resigned with her.
The reporter was asked by host Megyn Kelly why she resigned.
“Well, I realized that my company didn’t have my back. I can’t stand with a company that won’t stand for me. They knew the truth from the very beginning. My editor, as soon as it happened, had spoken to Corey. He told me that Corey had admitted to it and I was getting an apology, so I stayed quiet. I wasn’t going to make a big deal about it…I never got the apology. Instead they embarked on this smear campaign against me.”
Michelle Fields added that her editor, Matthew Boyle, told her that because of her injury, Donald Trump’s campaign was going to have to give Breitbart News more exclusives now “because they’re going to feel like they have to do it because of what they did.”
“This is how my company was looking at this. Instead of saying, wow, what happened, are you okay? Let’s defend you. They were thinking that this was a good thing because we would get more access to Donald Trump.”
Fields has filed an assault complaint against Lewandowski.
Shapiro Also Resigns
Kelly then turned her attention to Shapiro and asked him why he resigned.
“I resigned because the fact is that Breitbart has unfortunately become a Trump Pravda site. And the problem for me is that once you as any news organization, any media organization, once your loyalty to a political campaign trumps your loyalty to your own reporters, I’m out.”
Shapiro added that he was saddened by the fact that Breitbart, which was founded by the late Andrew Breitbart, has become the very type of website that its founder abhorred.
In case Andrew Breitbart starts trending again, a helpful reminder. @BreitbartNews pic.twitter.com/7YRAut8z3G
— Andrew Klavan (@andrewklavan) March 14, 2016
What Happened to Fields
Washington Post reporter Ben Terris witnessed what happened to Fields.
“Michelle Fields, a young reporter for Trump-friendly Breitbart News, pressed forward to ask the Republican front-runner a question. I watched as a man with short-cropped hair and a suit grabbed her arm and yanked her out of the way. He was Corey Lewandowski, Trump’s 41-year-old campaign manager.
“I’m just a little spooked,” Fields told Terris with a tear in her eye. “No one has ever grabbed me that hard before.”
The Trump campaign denied the Fields incident in a statement.
“The accusation, which has only been made in the media and never addressed directly with the campaign, is entirely false. As one of the dozens of individuals present as Mr. Trump exited the press conference I did not witness any encounter. In addition to our staff, which had no knowledge of said situation, not a single camera or reporter of more than 100 in attendance captured the alleged incident.”
More Fallout From Michelle Fields Resignation
Including Fields and Shapiro’s departure, six employees have resigned from Breitbart News since the alleged incident.
Two of them, Jordan Schachtel and Jarrett Stepman, resigned on Monday.
“The company no longer resembles the ideals that inspired me to start writing for them three years ago,” Schachtel told the Washington Examiner.
“Breitbart News is no longer a journalistic enterprise, but instead, in my opinion, something resembling an unaffiliated media Super PAC for the Trump campaign. I signed my contract to work as a journalist, not as a member of the Donald J. Trump for President media network. As recent events have proven, there is no longer a point in trying to reform the company from within, so I must step aside with my dignity intact.”
Fields tweeted her support for the latest departures.
Thank you. So proud of you @JarrettStepman @JordanSchachtel for standing up. pic.twitter.com/MLYOwx2D5s
— Michelle Fields (@MichelleFields) March 14, 2016
Joel Pollack, the editor-at-large of Breitbart News, published an account that questioned Fields’ allegations.
[Photo by Charlie Neibergall/AP]
