Early life and education Edit

Journalism career Edit

Changing sides Edit

Political operative career Edit

Personal life Edit

Brock was formerly the domestic partner of William Grey; Fox News reported that their relationship ended in a bitter, three-year-long legal battle in which "Brock and Grey traded angry accusations, ... replete with charges of blackmail, theft and financial malfeasance" related to a Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, house that the two once shared.[60] The news channel further reported that Grey filed a lawsuit against Brock in January 2011, and Brock countersued Grey in March 2011.[60] The dispute was settled at the end of 2011 on confidential terms.[60] On March 22, 2017, Brock suffered a heart attack while at work at Media Matters headquarters; he was expected to fully recover.[61][62]

Controversies Edit

Potential legal conflicts Edit Brock's simultaneous involvement with Correct the Record, American Bridge, and Priorities USA Action raised legal questions, given that the first two groups work closely with Hillary Clinton's campaign while Priorities USA Action, the largest Democratic Party super PAC, is legally prohibited from doing so. Brock claimed to have stopped working directly with American Bridge, although its staffers continued to operate out of his office. Paul Ryan, a lawyer at the Campaign Legal Center, considered complaining about Brock to the Federal Election Commission and Justice Department, charging that he was "creating new ways to undermine campaign regulation."[3] Edit In 2001, Jonah Goldberg wrote in National Review that while Brock has been "hailed by liberals for 'coming clean,' they would never really trust him." He quoted reporter Jill Abramson as having said that "the problem with Brock's credibility" is that "once you admit you've knowingly written false things, how do you know when to believe what he writes?"[16] Similarly, The Guardian referred in 2014 to "residual unease among some liberal operatives that Brock's conversion story fits into a pattern of opportunism and self-promotion rather than ideological transformation."[31] Observing in 2015 that Brock had admitted to mudslinging before, The Daily Beast noted a difficulty in dispatching fears he would do it again.[5] Brock's claim that the Clintons have never committed any wrongdoing has received criticisms from many, including fellow Democrats, who have cited instances of abuse.[63] Cenk Uygur of The Young Turks criticized Brock's negative coverage of the Bernie Sanders 2016 Presidential Campaign, specifically the invention of the "Bernie Bro" controversy.[64][65] Uygur said that Brock's January 10, 2017 open letter of apology to Sanders and his voters[66] was disingenuous because it was motivated by a desire to raise money from wealthy Democratic donors and to foster a perception of himself as being a member of the U.S. progressive movement.[64]

Books Edit