The is it or isn’t it debate over a purported audiotape of the Michael Brown shooting hit a new level last night. Lopa Blumenthal, the attorney who provided the audiotape to CNN, and other networks, says she won’t “tolerate being maligned” by those who say the tape is a hoax.
“I’m not going to sit back and take this,” she tells WaPo’s Erik Wemple. “This is affecting my community — people are discussing it. My business exists on the work that I do, which means nothing if people think that I have no integrity.”
Blumenthal contacted CNN’s Don Lemon, who first aired the tape and conducted an interview with her Monday night, to express concern about the “New Day” segment Wednesday which called into question the veracity of the tape. “I need some form of redress,” she says. “My demand would be to not only do a retraction but to basically say that when CNN aired it they were fully aware of the fact that it wasn’t fully authenticated, and they decided to air it in any case with the disclaimer.”