Condemning ABC57’s unprofessional behavior

The office of Congressman Rudy Yakym is condemning ABC57 for secretly recording a congressional intern without their knowledge as part of an ongoing effort to smear the Congressman.

"ABC57 has made clear they are not interested in journalism. They are interested in a hit job. Secretly recording an intern is a cowardly, unethical tactic that exposes exactly the kind of outlet they are. ABC57 has ignored every single bill that Congressman Yakym has introduced in the last two years, including legislation that became law. No statement from this office will be given to a network that operates in such an unprofessional manner." - Ben Falkowski, Chief of Staff for Congressman Rudy Yakym

A recent ABC57 segment opened with a reporter calling Congressman Yakym’s office. This call was answered by an intern on her fourth day. Interns are not authorized to speak on the record to reporters and have no ability to schedule meetings or interviews with the Congressman. The intern was not informed the call was being recorded or that what she was saying was on the record for a news report. The intern performed admirably in the face of unprofessional and unethical behavior from a reporter who should know better than to engage in such deceptive tactics.

 According to a press release from Congressman Yakym's office:

• Congressman Yakym has introduced 24 bills in the 119th Congress. This includes bills impacting local industries and honoring Lou Holtz. ABC57 has covered none of them.
   
• One of Congressman Yakym’s bills became law, two have passed the House, and two have advanced out of their committees. ABC57 has covered none of them.
   
• Congressman Yakym has sent 159 press releases on a range of national and local issues to news outlets, including ABC57 since the beginning of the 119th Congress. He has also posted hundreds of times on social media across all platforms, which are readily available to ABC57 and others.  ABC57 has chosen not to avail themselves to these publicly available statements and statements sent to them directly.