US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee has issued a scathing rejection of a New York Times report claiming his senior adviser altered professional positions drafted by embassy staff in order to assist Israel.
The statement was published alongside a sharp social media post attacking the Times investigation, which alleged that Huckabee's senior aide David Milstein changed the wording of policy positions prepared by embassy personnel with the aim of helping Israel.
Huckabee tore into the investigation and the Times itself in unusually harsh terms: "The New York Times' spinelessness with cowardly 'anonymous' sources produced a hit piece against David Milstein, a senior policy adviser. They asked me to respond but didn't have the courage or integrity to include the response."
The American ambassador went on to reveal:
"So here it is: the elements of the story the New York Times is trying to piece together are so factually baseless that they stand alongside other debunked reports from the paper, like the embarrassing 'dog rape' story, or the completely fabricated story about a small child shot in the face by the IDF in Gaza (when in fact, the small child was not only alive but evacuated from Gaza with his mother by the Jerusalem embassy to a safe location in another country to protect him from Hamas murderers).
I personally and comprehensively deny the elements of your fabricated 'story' and I'm surprised you expect to be taken seriously with such nonsense without even one source willing to be identified by name.
You should consult with your lawyers regarding whether publishing such nonsense could expose the Times to a libel suit. There's a reason Donald Trump calls you 'Fake News.'"
