Chad Selweski of The Macomb Daily reports at the Macomb Politics blog that someone claiming to be from CNN showed up at a small Mark Schauer campaign event in Coldwater recently and began filming.
After some checking, the Schauer campaign discovered that this guy actually does camera work for Gov. Rick Snyder campaign ads. Dirty tricks in the works?
The sleuth, identified as Jeff Steinborn, had a phony-looking press credential and a bright orange CNN cap. While the Schauer appearance at a coffee shop was nothing of significance, Steinborn videotaped the entire event. Then he left without bothering to get any direct quotes from the candidate.
Selweski writes that Steinborn is a professional videographer from Tennessee whose work for the Snyder campaign included the role of director of photography for the Snyder Super Bowl ad, which infamously featured the governor snorkeling.
Clandestine audio and video recordings of an opposition candidate are common in Michigan political campaigns. The tape that is secured is typically leaked to the media – if it’s juicy stuff – or it’s used in negative advertising that casts the opponent in the worst possible light. If caught, the person doing the taping is supposed to come clean when asked who they work for.
And falsely claiming to be part of a media outlet is strictly forbidden.
Selweski says there has been no comment from the Snyder campaign.
