Mueller Report Postmortems: Media Big Lies Drown Out Hard Truths
by Stephen Lendman (stephenlendman.org – Home – Stephen Lendman)
Misinformation, disinformation and Big Lies are what establishment media do best – polar opposite what journalism the way it’s supposed to be is all about.
To its disgrace, the self-styled newspaper of record NYT has been in the vanguard of vilifying Trump for defeating media darling Hillary, along with pushing the colossal myth of Russian US election meddling – the Big Lie that won’t die.
The Times turned truth on its head – falsely claiming the Mueller report revealed “the danger facing American democracy.”
What doesn’t exist can’t be endangered. The Times persists in pushing the long ago discredited Big Lie, falsely claiming Russia “interfered in the 2016 presidential election in sweeping and systematic fashion” – quoting Mueller’s Big Lie.
The Times: “The Justice Department’s indictment of 13 Russians and three companies in February 2018 laid bare (sic) much of the sophisticated Russian campaign (sic) to blacken the American democratic process (sic) and support the Trump campaign (sic), including the theft of American identities (sic) and creation of phony political organizations (sic) to fan division on immigration, religion or race (sic).”
Fact: All of the above is utter rubbish. Mueller’s 34 indictments had nothing to do with his mandate, nothing connected to phony accusations and allegations of possible Trump team/Russia collusion.
The Times: “The extensive hacks of Hillary Clinton’s campaign emails (sic) and a host of other dirty tricks (sic) have likewise been exhaustively chronicled (sic).”
Fact: No hacking occurred, an indisputable fact. Material was leaked by a Dem insider – unrelated to Russia, published by WikiLeaks, what responsible journalism is all about.
The Times: “…Russia’s interference in the campaign (sic) was the core issue that Mr. Mueller was appointed to investigate…(H)e was unequivocal on Russia’s culpability (sic).”
“First, the Office determined that Russia’s two principal interference operations in the 2016 US presidential election (sic) — the social media campaign and the hacking-and-dumping operations (sic) — violated US criminal law (sic).”
Fact: The Trump regime’s acting attorney general Rod Rosenstein appointed special counsel Mueller “to conduct the investigation on:
1. any links and/or coordination between the Russian government and individuals associated with the campaign of President Donald Trump, and
2. any matter that arose or may arise directly from the investigation; and
3. any other matters within the scope of 28 CFR § 600.4(a),” the law stating:
“The jurisdiction of a Special Counsel shall be established by the Attorney General. The Special Counsel will be provided with a specific factual statement of the matter to be investigated.”
“The jurisdiction of a Special Counsel shall also include the authority to investigate and prosecute federal crimes committed in the course of, and with intent to interfere with, the Special Counsel’s investigation, such as perjury, obstruction of justice, destruction of evidence, and intimidation of witnesses; and to conduct appeals arising out of the matter being investigated and/or prosecuted.”
Then-AG Jeff Sessions recused himself from probing a possible improper or illegal Trump/Russia connection over legitimate contacts with Russian officials. Deputy AG Rosenstein acted in his stead.
Fact: Mueller’s claim about Russian US election meddling through through social media and hacking were bald-faced Big Lies.
Neither he, House, Senate, or the US intelligence community provided any evidence backing their accusations – showing it was fabricated.
The Times: “Culpable or not, (Trump) must be made to understand that a foreign power that interferes in American elections (sic) is…trying to distort American foreign policy and national security (sic).”
Fact: At least in modern times, no evidence suggests Russia or any other foreign country interfered in the US political process.
Fact: Well-documented evidence proved long ago that the US interfered in and continues interfering in elections of other countries countless times worldwide in the post-WW II era – a CIA specialty.
The Times: “(A Russian) social media campaign intended to fan social rifts in the United States (sic)…”
Fact: No such campaign existed, nothing of the sort going on now. Claims otherwise are bald-faced Big Lies.
The Times: Russian ‘information warfare’ (sic) evolved by 2016 into an operation targeted at favoring Mr. Trump and disparaging Mrs. Clinton (sic). This included posing as American people or grass-roots organizations such as the Tea Party, anti-immigration groups, Black Lives Matter and others to buy political ads or organize political rallies (sic).”
Fact: The above claims are utter rubbish. Not a shred of evidence backs them.
The Times: The Mueller report said “the cyberwarfare arm of the Russian army’s intelligence service opened another front (sic), hacking the Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee (sic) and releasing reams of damaging materials through the front groups DCLeaks and Guccifer 2.0 (sic), and later through WikiLeaks (sic).”
“The releases were carefully timed for impact (sic) — emails stolen from the Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta (sic)…”
Fact: Cold, hard, indisputable facts debunk the above willfully malicious Big Lies.
The Times: Russian “activity…was accompanied by the well documented efforts to contact the Trump campaign through business connections (sic), offers of assistance to the campaign (sic), invitations for Mr. Trump to meet Mr. Putin and plans for improved American-Russian relations.”
“Both sides saw potential gains, the report said — Russia in a Trump presidency (sic), the campaign from the stolen information (sic).”
Fact: All of the above reads like grade F Hollywood fiction no credible producer would touch.
The Times: “(T)here is no way to gauge with any certainty how much impact the Russian activities actually had on voters (sic).”
Fact: There was no effect whatever on what never occurred.
The Times: “(T)he real danger (sic) that the Mueller report reveals is not of a president who knowingly or unknowingly let a hostile power (sic) do dirty tricks on his behalf (sic), but of a president who refuses to see that he has been used to damage American democracy and national security (sic).”
Fact: What doesn’t exist can’t be damaged. Democracy in America is pure fantasy. The US faced no national security threats since the scourge of Nazism and imperial Japan were defeated – NONE!
US rage for global dominance threatens everyone everywhere – what the Times and other establishment media suppress!
The self-styled newspaper of record in its own mind is a lying machine on major issues mattering most.
It long ago abandoned journalism the way it’s supposed to be – featuring managed news misinformation, disinformation, Big Lies and fake news instead.
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