How to Get Away With Everything
March 15, 2023

Denial & Scandal Management
Outline of Concepts

Literal Denial
Interpretive Denial
Implicatory Denial

Partial Acknowledgment

• Isolation

• Denial of Responsibility

• Self-Correction

First-order Transgressions
Second-order Transgressions

Condemning the Condemners
Bolstering

Examples

President Bill Clinton - August 17, 1998 Statement on Relationship with Monica Lewinsky

Donald J. Trump - 2016 Statements on Access Hollywood Comments

Mark Zuckerberg - 2018 Testimony to the Senate Commerce and Judiciary Committees
Full Text | CSPAN Clip

Readings and Resources

Stanley Cohen
States of Denial

Jared Del Rosso
Denial: How We Hide, Ignore, and Explain Away Problems
Talking about Torture: How Political Discourse Shapes the Debate
”How to Get Away with Torture, Insurrection, You Name It…”