Fox News has apologized for publishing a false story about the Biden administration’s treatment of a Gold Star family — not that this error by the network negates all the other criticism the administration is facing from Gold Star families writ large.
Published last month and based on a claim from Republican Rep. Cory Mills, the since-deleted story alleged that the family of a female Marine killed during the 2021 Kabul airport bombing in Afghanistan had received a $60,000 bill to cover transporting her remains to Arlington National Cemetery.
Note that BizPac Review also picked up the story at the time:
Family of Marine who died in botched Afghan withdrawal forced to pay to ship her body thanks to new Pentagon policy https://t.co/HxRpXBtvTC pic.twitter.com/Dr0fz1JRAF
— BizPac Review (@BIZPACReview) July 29, 2023
But after the story’s publication, the family of deceased Marine Sgt. Nicole Gee issued a statement clarifying that they had not in fact been charged.
“We did not have to pay any bill and never had a bill presented,” Christy Shamblin, Gee’s mother-in-law, told Military.com.
Mills has since claimed that the Gee family had mistakenly provided him with false information during a meeting.
“I understand the family of Sgt. Nicole Gee was, in their time of grief, confused regarding transportation proceedings,” he said in a statement.
Fox News has since retracted the story and issued a statement to Mediaite effectively apologizing for having published it.
“The now unpublished story has been addressed internally and we sincerely apologize to the Gee family,” the statement reads.
However, while this particular story turned out to be false, the Biden administration still faces criticism from the Gee family over its handling of their daughter’s death.
“One of the hardest parts has really been being ignored largely by the administration and official elected officials,” Gee’s mother-in-law, Christy Shamblin, told the Daily Mail, adding that the last two years have been “very painful.”
According to Shamblin, the only time the Biden administration ever reached out to her family was at the Dover Air Force Base dignified transfer where President Joe Biden had infamously repeatedly stared at his watch.
Gold Star fathers respond to ‘disrespect’ from Biden: ‘If he checks his watch one more time…’ https://t.co/P08glaTBq6 pic.twitter.com/UFrYrCEd6O
— BizPac Review (@BIZPACReview) August 31, 2021
Meanwhile, Alicia and Herman Lopez, the parents of Cpl. Hunter Lopez, likewise told DailyMail.com that the administration never reached out to them aside for during the dignified transfer at Dover Air Force Base.
“We did receive a certificate or a letter or something from Biden saying that they were sorry for our loss but that was it,” they said.
Shamblin added that she and other Gold Star families “recently” reached out to the administration to request a meeting with President Biden but have been ignored.
“We haven’t heard anything. We just haven’t heard anything back,” she said.
She’d like to hear the president admit that the Afghanistan withdrawal “wasn’t a success” and “that there were flaws.”
“I would love to sit down with President Biden and have him outline the successes. … I don’t see where the administration had successes, and I would love to see his perspective,” she said.
The overall goal though is to prevent future unnecessary deaths of America’s servicemen and servicewomen.
“If these people are not in a position or capable of making the right decisions or their hands are tied or they’re not capable, then you know, that needs to be addressed so that our country is safe and that other members of our military are not needlessly in danger,” Herman Lopez said.
Afghanistan – anatomy of a failure https://t.co/fqLFl7fgY7 pic.twitter.com/q1cxse7bNW
— BizPac Review (@BIZPACReview) August 15, 2021
According to Mark Schmitz, whose son, Lance Corporal Jared Schmitz, was also killed during the Kabul Airport bombing, it’d help if the president would take some responsibility instead of constantly blaming his predecessor, former President Donald Trump.
“There were so many incredible mistakes made during this entire situation, starting with Bagram. The fact that I sat there and listened to Biden boast about this being a success, the only [thing] he said right there was the bravery of our men and women that were over there, they were tasked with something completely impossible,” he told Breitbart News.
“The advisers were telling Biden not to do what he was going to do. He flat-out ignored it, simply for, I believe that September 11 original date that he wanted to have as the deadline and moved it up to the 31st. And then turns around and has the audacity to blame Trump for everything. It’s just — it’s disgusting,” he added.
“There’s been absolutely no one who’s taken responsibility for any of the bad decisions that were made. And that starts at the very top and goes all the way down the list,” Schmitz concluded.
Writers and editors can be contacted at [email protected] with feedback, tips, or corrections.
V. Saxena is a staff writer with a decade of experience as a professional writer, and a lifetime of experience as an avid news junkie. He holds a degree in computer technology from Purdue University. Saxena also contributes to BizPac Review.
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