MADISON, Wis. -- The Credit Union Executives Society was alerting its membership late today of a possible TV expose on CU business junkets related to the corporate bailout to appear this week, perhaps tonight, on the ABC network news show "20/20."
"It was certainly a case of ambush journalism and what looks pretty unethical," declared Fred Johnson, president/CEO of CUES commenting on the appearance of a news crew filming and later interviewing attendees by phone who attended the trade group's four-day CUES Symposium Feb. 1-5 in St. Kitts in the Caribbean.
The annual educational meeting, which drew 165 volunteers and CEOs, was held at a Marriott Hotel with a 20/20 producer and an assistant "first acting nonchalantly like tourists and asking a lot of innocent questions" about trips and experiences later identifying themselves as journalists doing a story on CUs taking TARP money while engaging taking lavish expense trips.
"We told them at the time that credit unions have not asked for TARP money and they got their facts wrong," said Johnson.
