After the report was released on the Russia collusion investigation, it has become clear that FISA requests were approved by judges based on the Steele dossier — a report funded for and written by anti-Trump hacks. Over the last few years, however, many journalists denied this to be the case. Oh no, they said time and again, the Steele dossier wasn’t (much of) the basis of the FISA request(s) to spy on former Trump adviser Carter Page at all. No sir.
Twitter-user @Techno_Fog was so kind as to collect tweets from those journalists about the matter. To start with: the Washington Post’s Shane Harris. On January 12, 2018, Harris wrote: “I am telling you the dossier was not used as the basis for a FISA warrant on Carter Page.”
WaPo reporter @shaneharris has been lying to the public this whole time. https://t.co/CIb3gRfBdj
— Techno Fog (@Techno_Fog) December 10, 2019
Then there is Jonah Goldberg, formerly of National Review, now of The Dispatch. He wrote in February of 2018: “More than one FISA Court Judge issued actual warrants after reviewing intelligence collected from Page surveillance that had nothing to do with the Steele Dossier.”
Let's keep it going.@JonahDispatch
The FISA renewals were approved by the FISC Judges "after reviewing intelligence collected from Page surveillance that had nothing to do with the Steele dossier"
🤦♂️ pic.twitter.com/bLtUAJgW0K
— Techno Fog (@Techno_Fog) December 11, 2019
That was, of course, not true. It did have everything to do with the Steele dossier, and the FBI (purposefully) didn’t inform the judge(s) about the background of the dossier — who paid for it and why, for example.
NBC’s Ken Dilanian tweeted in July of 2018 that “Trump is wrong about Carter Page, the dossier and the FISA warrant.”
The notoriously inaccurate NBC News correspondent @KenDilanianNBC
"Trump is wrong about Carter Page, the dossier and the FISA warrant" pic.twitter.com/JNhiNk7Ln3
— Techno Fog (@Techno_Fog) December 11, 2019
Of course, Trump wasn’t. He actually was spot-on.
Reuter’ D.C. national security correspondent Jonathan Landay also informed his Twitter followers that the “dossier played [a] minor role in Page FISA warrant. [The m]ajor reason: FBI believed Page [was] recruited by Russian intelligence from [a] recording of 2 SVR officers discussing him during [the] 2015 probe into [a] Russian illegal working in [the] NYC brand of VEB bank.”
Reuters DC National Security Correspondent @JonathanLanday
"Dossier played minor role in Page FISA warrant." pic.twitter.com/yQ68lmveWk
— Techno Fog (@Techno_Fog) December 11, 2019
Yeah, no.
Will Wilkinson, who is an opinion writer for the far-left New York Times, also lied that the dossier wasn’t ground for issuing a FISA warrant. He added, just for the fun of it, that most of the dossier “had been validated,” which was, is and will always remain a huge lie.
NY Times Opinion Contributor @willwilkinson
"Dossier info wasn't grounds for issuing FISA warrant"
Most of the dossier "has been validated" pic.twitter.com/3z7cZ8RwVk
— Techno Fog (@Techno_Fog) December 11, 2019
Then there was CNN anchor Jim Sciutto, who lied that the “FBI would further corroborate information in dossier on its own before using such intel to justify the FISA warrant.”
CNN Anchor @jimsciutto gets it wrong.
The FBI would "corroborate info in dossier on its own before using such intel to justify the FISA warrant" pic.twitter.com/ks8RB5lsR8
— Techno Fog (@Techno_Fog) December 11, 2019
No, the FBI did not, Jim.
And then there is Washington Post blogger Jennifer Rubin. “Did Lindsey Graham even read the FISA application?” she wondered on July 22, 2018. “Why would he say it largely relied on Steele dossier. That is FALSE.”
@washingtonpost blogger @JRubinBlogger
Presented without comment. pic.twitter.com/yWt9Q9DJOI
— Techno Fog (@Techno_Fog) December 11, 2019
The only problem being, of course, that it actually did. Graham’s statement wasn’t “FALSE,” but “TRUE.”
This list is far from exhaustive. Many more names of journalists could be added to it, which just goes to show how incredibly dishonest they all have been — and still are, considering that virtually none of them have apologized for spreading misinformation.
Fake News, thy name is Mainstream Media.
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