Discussing economic crisis and bailout plan, Savage said Rep. Frank "should be in the gallows for this"

MEDIA MATTERS FOR AMERICA
Tue, Sep 30, 2008 4:24pm ET

Summary: Michael Savage said of Rep. Barney Frank's role in proposed federal financial bailout legislation: "Barney Frank should be in the gallows for this. Barney Frank should be in jail for doing this."

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During the September 29 broadcast of his nationally syndicated radio show, while discussing the current financial crisis and Rep. Barney Frank's (D-MA) role in proposed bailout legislation, host Michael Savage said, "Barney Frank should be in the gallows for this. Barney Frank should be in jail for doing this."

Savage later added, "[Speaker of the House] Nancy Pelosi [D-CA] had the audacity today to say that Barney Frank has the intellect to understand this. Barney Frank, a man who ran a male house of prostitution in his apartment in Washington, which is not the least of his sins, by the way. Actually, it was the least of his sins. The male house of prostitution was nothing if he had brains, but apparently he has no brains." In fact, Frank did not run "a male house of prostitution in his apartment in Washington," as Media Matters for America has noted many times. The House ethics committee -- which, at Frank's request, investigated the allegations made by Stephen Gobie that Gobie was running a prostitution ring out of Frank's house with Frank's knowledge -- determined in 1990 that Frank "did not have either prior or concomitant knowledge of prostitution activities involving third parties alleged to have taken place in his apartment." Moreover, the committee did not conclusively determine whether Gobie was even using Frank's apartment for "prostitution activities," noting in its report that purported evidence offered by Gobie that he had been engaging in prostitution from Frank's apartment collapsed under scrutiny.

Talk Radio Network, which syndicates Savage's show, claims that Savage is heard on more than 350 radio stations. The Savage Nation reaches at least 8.25 million listeners each week, according to Talkers Magazine, making it one of the most listened-to talk radio shows in the nation

From the September 29 broadcast of Talk Radio Network's The Savage Nation:

SAVAGE: Sure, maybe we need a bailout, but not this one, where they put in money for La Raza and ACORN. More money for illegal aliens. Are you crazy? They said that they were going to protect us against golden parachutes for the very crooks who did this to us. I read the fine print -- oh yeah, 20 percent excise tax. That's Barney Frank's answer. Barney Frank should be in the gallows for this. Barney Frank should be in jail for doing this. Look who they're holding up as an intellectual giant? Nancy Pelosi had the audacity today to say that Barney Frank has the intellect to understand this. Barney Frank, a man who ran a male house of prostitution in his apartment in Washington, which is not the least of his sins, by the way. Actually, it was the least of his sins. The male house of prostitution was nothing if he had brains, but apparently he has no brains. Barney Frank has the intellectual capacity to understand this when he's the one who forced greenlining down on banks and said, "You've gotta lend money to unqualified minorities or else we'll sue you?" Now Barney Frank's screaming? And Nancy Pelosi has decimated Congress and the Democrat [sic] Party. It's Nancy Pelosi's fault. That's why this happened.