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The Media Has Some Apologizing to Do After the IG Report
Townhall.com ^ | December 14, 2019 | Tucker Carlson and Neil Patel

Posted on 12/14/2019 3:18:46 AM PST by Kaslin

Thanks to the Department of Justice Inspector General's report, we now know for certain what has been, for those paying attention, fairly obvious. The Steele dossier played a central role in the genesis of the Russia hoax and was used to justify extensive spying on former naval officer and Annapolis graduate Carter Page.

The top two leaders of the FBI were closely involved in this fiasco. Other powerful people knew what was happening and lied to cover it up. That all was confirmed by the IG report. The report was a disaster for the credibility of top leaders in Barack Obama's FBI, and it's also a big problem for the American news media.

For example, in early 2018, Washington Post intelligence and national security correspondent Shane Harris lectured Kim Strassel of The Wall Street Journal about how little she knows about the story.

"Yes," he wrote, "I am telling you the dossier was not used as the basis for a FISA warrant on Carter Page." That's false. And yet, Harris hasn't apologized or even acknowledged his incompetence.

Or take NBC News's so-called intelligence correspondent Ken Dilanian. In the summer of 2018, he smugly tweeted, "Trump is wrong about Carter Page, the dossier and the FISA warrant." But it looks like Trump was right, and he was wrong.

CNN Newsroom anchor and chief national security correspondent Jim Sciutto did admit the Steele dossier might have been used for the warrant. But don't be impressed. He lectured readers that "the FBI would corroborate information in the dossier on its own before using such intel to justify the FISA warrant." Of course, that didn't happen. In fact, the FBI hid information showing the dossier was false. Did Sciutto issue a correction? Of course not. But it does seem a little unfair to focus on Jim Sciutto. He was merely following the lead of almost everyone else at CNN, all of whom were frantically trying to convince us that the dossier was irrelevant:

Evan Perez, CNN senior justice correspondent: "You know, a lot of people will focus on the dossier, a lot of people will focus on a FISA, of Carter Page, and they'll say they were spying on a campaign. But at the beginning, this is all about what Russia was doing."

Shimon Prokupecz, CNN crime & justice correspondent: "Now Republicans were trying to claim that the dossier was key to getting the FISA, the surveillance warrant for Carter Page. But the Democrats memo clearly shows it wasn't key."

James Clapper, CNN national security analyst: "Even the earlier version of the redacted FISA authorization to me had enough information in it to indicate that the dossier was certainly not used as the primary source."

Everything you just read turned out to be wrong. Has CNN retracted the comments or apologized? That's a rhetorical question. Apologies require introspection and integrity. At CNN, they're doubling down. CNN's Don Lemon explained that, by definition, everything CNN reported was true:

Lemon: "So how is the White House and the Republican Party dealing with the articles of impeachment and an inspector general report that debunked conspiracy theories? Gaslighting. ... The FBI obtained proper warrants. You should read the report. Facts first. None of that is true. The report found that the launch of the Russia investigation was legally sound, unbiased and that no spying occurred."

In Lemon's world, facts are delicious. Mere opinion has no place. CNN's Chris Cuomo agrees.

CHRIS CUOMO: "'Trump is the victim.' All right, that was what was promised from this IG's report, 476 pages. No Trump as victim. Trump even says that that's what this says. It doesn't. He's lying to you about the report. Please, do yourself the favor, do the homework. He's lying to you."

Do the homework, demands Cuomo. Read the IG report! But you have to wonder if Cuomo himself read the report. Or did his assistant promise to read the report and give him a summary, but then got stuck in a super-long holiday season line at Starbuck's and forgot to do it? And then maybe, in a last-minute panic, which is understandable under the circumstances, told a few white lies to Chris about what the report says? We're not sure that's what happened of course, and we're not going to judge. We can surmise that, unless he's a pathological liar, Chris Cuomo didn't read the IG report himself. Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to sit in a TV studio, stare into the camera and pretend that the Justice Department's inspector general just confirmed what CNN has been telling you for three years. Because that is absolutely not what happened. Not even close.


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Editorial
KEYWORDS: demonrats; fbi; fisaabuse; inspectorgeneral; michaelhorowitz; painiscoming; trumpcampaign; trusthorowitz; trusttheplan; trustwray
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To: youngidiot

“at all” is probably an overstatement. They were certainly trying.

“effectually”, or “significantly”, is where they failed.

They weren’t even the largest foreign player. The UK, Canada, and Australia did more - and their efforts are dwarfed by Mexico.

Russia is not at all harmless, but China is a *much* more aggressive and capable rival.


41 posted on 12/14/2019 6:06:41 AM PST by lepton ("It is useless to attempt to reason a man out of a thing he was never reasoned into"--Jonathan Swift)
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To: Kaslin

The media/DNC cover that the coup attempt was not dependent on the made-up dossier has now been exposed beyond question as a “debunked conspiracy theory” (a phrase the leftists love). Chew on that for awhile, Fredo.


42 posted on 12/14/2019 6:06:57 AM PST by SharpRightTurn (Chuck Schumer--giving pond scum everywhere a bad name.)
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To: lepton

Examples of Russian influence includes what? That some Russians bought $100k in ads on Facebook?


43 posted on 12/14/2019 6:14:58 AM PST by youngidiot (God save the President!)
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To: youngidiot

Examples of Russian influence includes what? That some Russians bought $100k in ads on Facebook?


That alone defeats the “at all” claim, and moves it into the “insignificant” realm. There are a number of other examples, but the Russian efforts were very small compared to what the left has been implying.


44 posted on 12/14/2019 6:20:16 AM PST by lepton ("It is useless to attempt to reason a man out of a thing he was never reasoned into"--Jonathan Swift)
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To: lepton

Agreed but many of us cede the point to the left that “Russia interfered with the election” and we shouldn’t. It lends credence to their overall scam.


45 posted on 12/14/2019 6:28:25 AM PST by youngidiot (God save the President!)
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To: livius
Shoulda, woulda, coulda...

You say this because you're an honest man and not a socialist ideologue.

46 posted on 12/14/2019 6:36:14 AM PST by metesky (My investment program is holding steady @ $0.05 cents a can.)
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To: lepton
Reality-wise, there should be consequences to their reputation from readers/viewers, and their employment from their bosses.

Why would they face consequences from their bosses who are the directors of this charade, the overseers on the plantation?

47 posted on 12/14/2019 6:41:54 AM PST by metesky (My investment program is holding steady @ $0.05 cents a can.)
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To: Kaslin

Apologize?

How blind do you have to be?

The deep state operates a war room to amass power and wealth, but above all it exists to protect itself.

At the bottom of the food chain are celebrities and the media.

Each day, they dial into www.deepstatenarrative.com, enter their pin and get their message.

The deep state communications department are given the assignment of getting the message out through Online content, Newspapers, Magazines, Books, Speeches, et...

NO AUTHOR, SPEAKER, COMMENTATOR, CONTRIBUTOR ON THE LEFT THINKS OR WRITES FOR THEMSELVES

Period.

So, everyone. Stop. Just stop believing these leftists whoever they may be are stupid or crazy or filled with hate, their just folks who have been recruited to the cause because their are compromise, have high name recognition or large audiences.

...and there is proportionate compensation through advertising and laundered tax dollars.

That is all.


48 posted on 12/14/2019 7:00:01 AM PST by Eddie01
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To: Kaslin

I’m not holding my breath. CNN & MSNBC will go out of business before admitting that they did anything wrong. Of course the won’t go out of business... instead there will be massive layoffs (which they will attribute to other things) or a change in parent companies. The new “parent” will be financially forced to point a loaded gun so-to-speak at the editorial board. Money talks and B-S walks.


49 posted on 12/14/2019 7:34:45 AM PST by Tallguy (Facts be d@mned! The narrative must be protected at all costs!)
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To: Kaslin

The only good thing about Facebook is that we will know our enemies in the next civil war. Lol.


50 posted on 12/14/2019 7:36:43 AM PST by justa-hairyape (The user name is sarcastic. Although at times it may not appear that way.)
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To: lepton

“I think the IG found out about the forgery by Clinesmith - though we already knew that Pages contacts with the Russians were being mischaracterized.”

It seems that Carter Page may have been a CIA-asset or ‘contractor’ who Team Obama decided to sacrifice in an effort to create the Trump-Russia narrative. Think about that. Look how the Media cried & pleaded about the dastardly Republican who “outted” Valerie Plame. That was factually false then, but likely true in this case.

Scooter Libby did time for a false charge. Team Obama would have been pleased if they could have rolled up Carter Page along with Flynn & Manafort. That’s how Team Obama rolls. They are criminals.


51 posted on 12/14/2019 7:44:01 AM PST by Tallguy (Facts be d@mned! The narrative must be protected at all costs!)
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To: Kaslin

The report was a “bombshell”, and the Left knows it was.


52 posted on 12/14/2019 7:48:25 AM PST by windsorknot
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To: metesky

Why don’t YOU learn some manners.

We know history. And we also know that a Mega-Corporate-owned “Press” that chooses to lie, cheat, and obfuscate in service to a government and/or totalitarian ideology is no longer a “Free Press” but simply a paid propaganda organ for the State.

The so-called “Free Press” as it is constituted in current-year America is an Enemy of The People and should be treated as such.


53 posted on 12/14/2019 7:49:37 AM PST by TTFlyer
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To: metesky
the press, being free, is free to take sides as it wishes. This has been the case from the beginning of the Republic. Learn history people...

Take sides!!!?

"The media" means...."in the middle"

The RATagandists have engaged in total anti-American libel and slander for years if not decades. They've been the broadcast arm of the subversive democRATs/communists in trying to oppose and suppress the will of the American people.

They are the "enemies both foreign and domestic".

If they can't be prosecuted for their blatant and aggressive disinformation campaign, then they need to be individually sued into homelessness, and vociferously disrupted and harassed by the public every time they show their lying faces, or attempt to "cover a story".

"the press, being free, is free to take sides as it wishes"

And if they are...then so are we.

"The press" literally refers to the print media...the case needs to be made that those operating under license of the FCC have an obligation to honestly serve the public.

The newspapers can print whatever they damn well want...as they continue to lose readership and slowly circle the bowl.

54 posted on 12/14/2019 8:11:14 AM PST by ROCKLOBSTER (We need to reach across the aisle, extend a hand...And slap the crap out of them)
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To: metesky
It looks to me that many people on FR do not understand that the press, being free, is free to take sides as it wishes. This has been the case from the beginning of the Republic. Learn history people... 

Agree about being free to take sides.

However, in the beginning of the Republic, "the press" meant the printing press, and "freedom of the press" meant the People's right to publish.

The phrase "the press" to refer to newspapers and magazines didn't begin until the 1820s, and to refer to reporters and journalists until the early 1900s.

-PJ

55 posted on 12/14/2019 8:32:53 AM PST by Political Junkie Too (Freedom of the press is the People's right to publish, not CNN's right to the 1st question.)
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To: TTFlyer
Yasah, boss
Yasah, (tugging forelock)

Why don't you blow me?

56 posted on 12/14/2019 8:58:49 AM PST by metesky (My investment program is holding steady @ $0.05 cents a can.)
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To: Political Junkie Too
In the beginning of the Republic both Jefferson and Hamilton paid publishers to propagandize for their viewpoints.
57 posted on 12/14/2019 9:01:46 AM PST by metesky (My investment program is holding steady @ $0.05 cents a can.)
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To: ROCKLOBSTER

You and I are on the same page, sir. Sue ‘em all!


58 posted on 12/14/2019 9:14:58 AM PST by metesky (My investment program is holding steady @ $0.05 cents a can.)
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To: Kaslin

Apologize? Not as long as they have the last say and their sales are high enough to keep the power on. And there are enough liberal sheep in the pasture to do that. Don’t hold your breath.

rwood


59 posted on 12/14/2019 9:17:14 AM PST by Redwood71
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To: Kaslin

Most of the media are members of the treason party and have been for years don’t expect them to ever change.


60 posted on 12/14/2019 9:25:14 AM PST by Vaduz (women and children to be impacIQ of chimpsted the most.)
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