“Not too long later, I learned the truth of why he ‘resigned.’ He was dismissed because of his sexual misconduct. But only after years of people in authority positions knowing about what he was doing.”
Former senior writer Tim Johnson exited the far-left outlet Media Matters and took to Twitter talk about an alleged covered up sexual misconduct incident back in April. After he posted his thread of tweets, he was hit with legal threats by his former employer.
After about 10 years, I no longer work at Media Matters (@mmfa) — below is a thread with a few recollections:
— Tim Johnson (@timberwjohnson)
Johnson wrote a lengthy Twitter thread regarding his departure that began "After about 10 years, I no longer work at Media Matters."
The details of his exit are limited, but he singled out his former boss, editorial director Ben Dimiero, in the thread.
He wrote, "I am very very fortunate in my circumstances that I did not end up on the street the next day as a consequence of what my former boss @bendimiero did. I bet a lot of people would have." The circumstances revolve around an incident on April 4.
This man suddenly resigned. And to my shame, I went out with him after work that day and we all got really drunk. He told me a sob story, I bought it, and the night ended with him being carried up to his apartment.
— Tim Johnson (@timberwjohnson)
On the day in question Johnson admits that another unnamed Media Matters employee "suddenly resigned."
He added, "And to my shame, I went out with him after work that day and we all got really drunk. He told me a sob story, I bought it, and the night ended with him being carried up to his apartment."
Johnson continued, "Not too long later, I learned the truth of why he 'resigned.' He was dismissed because of his sexual misconduct. But only after years of people in authority positions knowing about what he was doing. He apparently was still allowed to come into the office (to participate in a poker game)."
As a clear indictment of his former boss he wrote: "Ben: Do you want to talk about how you covered up for a man who preyed on our colleagues?" LinkedIn lists Johnson's title as "Gun and Safety Program Director" and a senior writer.
He ended his tweet thread with "I am ashamed that I did not share this publicly until now. It most likely makes me a clown myself. But brass tacks, I didn’t, and I’m sorry."
After Johnson's thread, Media Matters reached out with legal threats. Attorney's for Media Matters said that Johnson was "in violation of the Transition Agreement and General Release signed by Johnson upon his departure from the media enterprise. Johnson, the attorney states, was fired for cause.
"As a result of your actions," the letter reads, "MMFA has suffered and will continue to suffer reputational injury," and demands that Johnson delete the tweets.
Update: Media Matters (@mmfa) is threatening to sue me for doing this thread. Every statement within the thread is true. https://t.co/pOHdN9lcUa pic.twitter.com/ZIgMXE0gxt
— Tim Johnson (@timberwjohnson)
The attorney further states that Johnson will no longer be entitled to any health insurance payments due to this violation and his tweets, whether he deletes the tweets or not.
Media Matters was reached for comment.
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