WaPo tries to link Barrett children to positive COVID-19 tests

The Washington Post tried to link two of the children of Supreme Court Justice nominee to positive COVID-19 tests at their school, reporting that they were in attendance at the White House when Barrett’s nomination was announced by President Trump.

While the headline reading “Two students and a teacher at school attended by Barrett children test positive for coronavirus,” tried to give readers the impression that there might be a link between the two events, co-author Beth Reinhard went a step further in tweeting about the story when she called the White House announcement event a “superspreader,” without citing any scientific evidence.

“Two students and teacher at school attended by SCOTUS nom Amy Coney Barrett’s kids test positive for coronavirus, two weeks after ‘superspreader’ White House event for ACB (Amy Coney Barrett),” Reinhard wrote. “Parents are freaked out though no proven link.”

According to the Post, parents at the Trinity School in South Bend were notified late Thursday of the positive test results.

“A private school in South Bend, Ind., attended by some children of President Trump’s nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court, Amy Coney Barrett, notified parents late Thursday that two students and a teacher had tested positive for the novel coronavirus.”

Then, co-authors Reinhard and Tom Hamburger, reported that there is no evidence linking the infections to the White House event.

“The emails from the Trinity School principal came less than two weeks after the Barrett family was honored at a White House event attended by several people who subsequently tested positive for the virus, including President Trump. The principal’s announcement alarmed some school families, though there is no evidence linking the school infections to the White House event.”

There really is no story here then, but the Post wanted to lob an opening salvo against Barrett in an effort to cast doubts before her Senate confirmation hearings today in a desperate attempt to derail her ascension to the court.

Don Irvine serves as the Publisher for Accuracy in Media. He is active on Facebook and Twitter. You can follow him @donirvine to read his latest thoughts. View the complete archives from Don Irvine.