ABC’s Stossel Appears on Fox and CNN to Blast His Critics

ABC News correspondent John Stossel shot back at his critics at the Environmental Working Group, calling them liars who “brainwashed” a group of California parents into demanding that their children be edited out of Stossel’s “Tampering With Nature” program airing tonight at 10.

Separately, ABC News cleared a Stossel producer who, it was claimed, had asked an educator to reenact a scene from a speech for the ABC cameras. Environmental educator Susan Cox said in notes to the Environmental Working Group that the producer had asked her to reenact a remark about President George W. Bush because the first time ABC tried to tape it, the auditorium was too dark. However, ABC will use the darkened version of the remark, according to a source close to the production, replacing the version taped when Cox repeated her remarks in a lighted room.

On Wednesday’s “The O’Reilly Factor” on Fox News Channel, Stossel, who has turned down other interview requests, said he didn’t blame the parents who had charged that he misled them, noting that environmental activists, whom he referred to at one point as “enemies of freedom,” had “brainwashed” the parents by making up stories about him.

Later, on CNN’s “Greenfield at Large,” Wednesday night, Stossel said charges that the children were asked leading questions are wrong. “The environmental activists say that, and they just have lied,” Stossel said, inviting anchor Jeff Greenfield to look at the unedited video of the interview as proof. ABC said Thursday that it is against company policy to let outsiders see such so-called outtakes.

Brenden DeMelle, Environmental Working Group research analyst, called the remarks “shocking and bizarre. Would Peter Jennings, Barbara Walters or Ted Koppel go on another network and make such extreme statements?”

Stossel said he is “not happy” with ABC’s decision to remove the interview with the children from the program, adding, “But I see their point, these are children. . . . If parents don’t want their kids on, who are we to force them?”

He noted that some of the parents who this week revoked permission to use their children’s comments were earlier “thrilled” by the interview, which was conducted in April.