In rebuttal: Joe Hall: Media should challenge Leonard’s claims

Thank you to Judith Meyer for her Jan. 6 condemnation of the violent attacks against our democracy. Thanks, too, for the Sun Journal’s consistent reporting on the election, including stories that show how former Attorney General Barr, the Supreme Court, and many other state and federal judges have dismissed Trump’s unfounded claims of massive voter fraud. You reassure us that our democracy works.

Imagine my surprise, then, when the paper also reported Matt Leonard’s claim that election officials “continue to divide us … and we’ll call for change.” There is no evidence for this serious claim. Election officials are reporting the will of the people, as every judge has determined. If Leonard has evidence that investigators have not already dismissed as unfounded, he should provide it. If he does not, your reporters should say so.

To those who believe challenging Leonard would be an example of media bias, I say, enthusiastically, yes. We need a media biased toward truth supported by evidence. As Sen. Mitt Romney recently reminded us, “The best way we can show respect for the voters who are upset is by telling them the truth.”

If we are, as Meyer calls, “to fight for what is right,” and if we are to debate what “right” means, we must do so with assertions supported by evidence. Our debates are difficult enough without pretending that fairy tales and lies deserve attention.

Joe Hall, Auburn