Eric Lichtblau begins his 2,700-word story in the New York Times about Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) with this vivid description: “Here on the third floor of a gleaming office building overlooking a golf course in the rugged foothills north of San Diego, Darrell Issa, the entrepreneur, oversees the hub of a growing financial empire worth hundreds of millions of dollars.”
There’s just one problem with the first sentence of Lichtblau’s story. It’s wrong. And we have the photos to prove it. (See below.)
As I reported earlier today, Issa’s office is located about a half-mile from the Shadowridge Country Club, according to Google Maps. It doesn’t even border the golf course. The office building is surrounded by three housing developments and a state highway.
And if Issa were to walk from his office to the golf course, it would take approximately 20 minutes, according to directions from Google Maps.
So why did Lichtblau paint such a picture of Issa’s office in today’s story? I asked and he hasn’t responded. In fact, in an earlier email, he stood by the description, claiming it was correct. But as the photos clearly reveal, there’s no view of the golf course.
In addition to this inaccurate description, there are three other factual errors or questionable assertions in Lichtblau’s story. He’s corrected just one of the five identified by Issa’s staff.
Here are the photos, courtesy of Issa’s staff:
UPDATE: This story now reflects the source of the three photographs.