September 21, 2017

If You Text Sean Spicer He’ll Contact the “Legal Authorities”

So don’t do it!

Buckner/Rex Shutterstock/ZUMA Press

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Two months after leaving the Trump administration, former White House press secretary Sean Spicer says he’s not trying to rehabilitate his image—which is good, because he’s doing a very bad job at it.

Instead, he’s embarked on a sort of anti-rehab tour, in which he doubles down on all the qualities that made him a national punchline. Spicer, who made a surprise cameo at the Emmys on Sunday to joke about his reputation for making false statements to the public, appeared on Good Morning America on Thursday, where he was asked point-blank if he had ever lied to the American people. “I don’t think so,” Spicer said. He was asked a second time. Spicer’s eyes flicked to his left, then he glanced upwards, and he continued: “Look, I have not knowingly done anything to do that, no.”

Although that, in itself, was a lie, Spicer nonetheless turned his fire on his critics, telling GMA’s Paula Faris that “the personal attacks, questioning my integrity…you know, what my intentions were, I think, were really over the top.”

Seemingly determined to show that he has not, in fact, learned anything, Spicer has also reached new heights in stonewalling reporters. On Wednesday, when Axios‘ Mike Allen texted him for a comment for a story on the role Spicer’s notebooks may play in special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation, Spicer wrote back to demand Allen stop bothering him—or he would contact “legal authorities”:

Per my text:

Please refrain from sending me unsolicited texts and emails

Should you not do so I will contact the appropriate legal authorities to address your harassment

Thanks

Sean M Spicer

Please do not call or text Sean Spicer.

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We just wrapped up a shorter-than-normal, urgent-as-ever fundraising drive and we came up about $45,000 short of our $300,000 goal.

That means we're going to have upwards of $350,000, maybe more, to raise in online donations between now and June 30, when our fiscal year ends and we have to get to break-even. And even though there's zero cushion to miss the mark, we won't be all that in your face about our fundraising again until June.

So we urgently need this specific ask, what you're reading right now, to start bringing in more donations than it ever has. The reality, for these next few months and next few years, is that we have to start finding ways to grow our online supporter base in a big way—and we're optimistic we can keep making real headway by being real with you about this.

Because the bottom line: Corporations and powerful people with deep pockets will never sustain the type of journalism Mother Jones exists to do. The only investors who won’t let independent, investigative journalism down are the people who actually care about its future—you.

And we hope you might consider pitching in before moving on to whatever it is you're about to do next. We really need to see if we'll be able to raise more with this real estate on a daily basis than we have been, so we're hoping to see a promising start.

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