Politics

Republicans Attack Jon Ossoff’s Work For Al Jazeera

WABE

April 6th, 2017

Republicans have called into question Democrat Jon Ossoff’s work for news outlet Al Jazeera.

In attack ads from the Congressional Leadership Fund super PAC and Bob Gray, a Republican running against Ossof in the race for Georgia’s 6th Congressional District, the democrat’s trustworthiness is questioned in connection with documentary work done for the Al Jazeera TV Network by a company he runs.

The same tack was taken in a recent mailer which made its way onto social media.

The mailer cites Ossoff’s official House of Representatives candidate financial disclosure report, which said he received more than $5,000 from The Al Jazeera Media Network. It goes on to accuse the organization of being owned by “known funders of terrorism.”

@Nate_Cohn GOP Mailer in the GA-06 pic.twitter.com/RrObu3uFQ2— peyton edwards (@peytoned) April 5, 2017

Ossoff is CEO of Insight TWI: The World Investigates, a documentary company which lists the BBC, Warner Brothers, Discovery Channel, PBS and others as clients, as well as Al Jazeera.

The Al Jazeera Media Network is the parent company of Al Jezeera and its more than 70 news bureaus around the world. It is owned by the government of Qatar. It has come under fire in the past from allegations of anti-Western bias.

In response to the mailer, Ossoff campaign manager Keenan Pontoni said:

“This smear attack is truly shameful. Jon served as a national security aide, had top secret clearance and he’s proud of his work as an investigative filmmaker working for outlets all over the world like the BBC, Skyvision, and yes, Al Jazeera. Jon helped stop the theft of US tax dollars and helped expose atrocities committed by ISIS. Comparing that important work to helping terrorists goes beyond the pale.”

Ossoff has come under increasing attack by Republicans in the race for the seat vacated by U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price. A recent poll from 11Alive shows the Democrat dominating the race for the historically Republican district.

You can view the CLF’s anti-Ossoff ad below: