Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

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
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-6061-73 last
To: metesky
Sue ‘em all!

Imagine, if you will...10 million individual citizen suits against each and every lying RATagandist.

Betraying the public trust, colluding with Russia/Ukrainian/China/England/Italy/Vietnam etc to change the outcome of the 2016 election...journalistic malpractice, participating in several attempts to remove a duly elected President.

I'm sure there are a million different "impeachable offenses" that have been committed by the complicit FAKE NEWS holes.

61 posted on 12/14/2019 9:47:00 AM PST by ROCKLOBSTER (We need to reach across the aisle, extend a hand...And slap the crap out of them)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 58 | View Replies]

To: metesky
True. The election of 1800 was as vicious as they get. They just didn't call them "the press" back then.

-PJ

62 posted on 12/14/2019 10:30:46 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.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 57 | View Replies]

To: Nuc 1.1
I don’t see any avenue for a whistle blower to address marxist sedition, subversion, and corruption in the FBI or any other government agency.

I would believe that would be in the realm of PDJT and his admin. The FBI works under the DOJ and the DOJ's final report is to the President of the United States. That is the way I see it.

63 posted on 12/14/2019 5:43:09 PM PST by eartick (Stupidity is expecting the government that broke itself to go out and fix itself. Texan for TEXIT!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 31 | View Replies]

To: eartick

I don’t disagree. Consider much of the mischief occurred during the 0 administration. Where to turn then? This includes sending American Aid money from the Ukraine to the DNC. Mark my words.


64 posted on 12/14/2019 7:55:13 PM PST by Nuc 1.1 (Nuc 1 Liberals aren't Patriots. Remember 1789!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 63 | View Replies]

To: combat_boots; eartick
“I believe this goes to the highest office in the land...” Somehow, a Chicago woman quit her position in government to open up a position that a young Black man then filled. , A popular Republican senator left his race because, again, somehow, divorce records were opened up, and he was painted in a bad light (his ex having now remarried and living in France).

All along the way, this man had people who greased the skids for him where his political enemies are concerned.

I believe 0bama has had it in for President Trump since Trump questioned the birth certificate. 0bama greenlighted it all AND has kept it going. Hillary just hopped on, along with the others.

As for the FIB, I hope everyone reading this knows to shut up around them. They’re Stasi/NKVD who speak English.

BTTT and for reference, excellent explanation.

65 posted on 12/14/2019 9:33:26 PM PST by SandwicheGuy (*The butter acts as a lubricant and speeds up the CPU)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 23 | View Replies]

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...

Yeah, and we once had many things.....perhaps you need to live in the reality of today rather than the warm glow of history.

66 posted on 12/15/2019 4:08:58 AM PST by Erik Latranyi (The Democratic Party is now a hate-group)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | View Replies]

To: Kaslin

The press has always been biased and untruthful. Benjamin Franklin said “Those that don’t read the papers are uniformed,Those that do are misinformed” and he was a newspaperman.


67 posted on 12/15/2019 4:31:26 AM PST by shoff (Vote Democrat it beats thinking!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Erik Latranyi
Thanks for the lecture, Mr. Big.

I've forgotten more about reality than you'll ever know.

68 posted on 12/15/2019 5:56:29 AM PST by metesky (My investment program is holding steady @ $0.05 cents a can.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 66 | View Replies]

To: Kaslin; 100American; 3D-JOY; abner; Abundy; AGreatPer; Albion Wilde; AliVeritas; alisasny; ...

PING!

“Hey, Looocy, you got some splainin’ to do!”


69 posted on 12/16/2019 8:12:58 PM PST by Tolerance Sucks Rocks (Show me the people who own the land, the guns and the money, and I'll show you the people in charge.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Erik Latranyi
fakenewwscan-Nlonercontroll
70 posted on 12/16/2019 8:36:10 PM PST by timestax
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: timestax
matthews-trump-media-122315
71 posted on 12/16/2019 8:37:51 PM PST by timestax
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 70 | View Replies]

To: semaj

The media is on the take.

Only way to keep it secret.


72 posted on 12/16/2019 8:40:12 PM PST by eyedigress ((Old storm chaser from the west))
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 14 | View Replies]

To: timestax
IHate-These-People661
73 posted on 12/16/2019 8:51:37 PM PST by timestax
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 71 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-6061-73 last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson