The media narrative that recently ousted National Security Adviser Michael Flynn was involved in nefarious — nay, sinister and possibly treasonous!!! — dealings in his December call with the Russian ambassador is quickly collapsing, as CNN reports that the FBI will not be pursuing any criminal investigation involving Flynn’s phone call.
So too is the hype that the Trump campaign was riddled with contacts with Russian intelligence, as reported yesterday by The New York Times.
Intercepted calls show Trump campaign members had repeated contact with Russian intelligence before the election https://t.co/9tTUPD36lb
— The New York Times (@nytimes) February 15, 2017
I addressed this story yesterday in my post-Flynn resignation roundup, noting that the screaming headline was undercut by the Times’ own reporting that no evidence of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russian intelligence had been found.
The New York Times got called out on its deceptive headline:
Why isn't the headline: "Officials Say No Evidence of Cooperation Betw Trump campaign and Russia"- as story states. https://t.co/8WleU06Tig
— Ari Fleischer (@AriFleischer) February 15, 2017
These were the "smoking gun" reports that Very Serious people just spent the last 24 hours screaming about https://t.co/8K8QVa8Tnh pic.twitter.com/AHwXeMnrg8
— Michael Tracey (@mtracey) February 15, 2017
Now 24 hours later, the story continues to take some serious hits:
On @NBCNightlyNews Pete Williams reports that the USG has not confirmed that the Russians in contact with Trump aides were intel officials.
— Ken Dilanian (@KenDilanianNBC) February 15, 2017
Former Trump adviser Carter Page told @JudyWoodruff he had no Russian meetings in the last year https://t.co/BMArwKvHaD
— PBS NewsHour (@NewsHour) February 16, 2017
Nevertheless, the media continues to persist:
Democrats see a scandal “bigger than Watergate.” Republicans see a Russia-size obstacle. https://t.co/gYuCwi1WY8
— The New York Times (@nytimes) February 16, 2017
Donald Trump's White House is on the verge of a raging fire over Russia allegations https://t.co/ao2Op4xm77
— Jeff Stein (@SpyTalker) February 16, 2017
Russia scare campaign has been going on for >3 months with repeated story failure not slowing it down at all. https://t.co/WKWghYKKl6
— Mollie (@MZHemingway) February 16, 2017
But the biggest story is that CNN is reporting not only that the FBI will decline to further investigate or prosecute the short-lived national security adviser, but that Flynn’s FBI interview is being described as “cooperative and truthful”:
More: FBI says Flynn was cooperative and provided truthful answers
— Jim Sciutto (@jimsciutto) February 15, 2017
The FBI does not believe Michael Flynn will face legal jeopardy, sources tell @PeteWilliamsNBC https://t.co/EFCX1875Wc pic.twitter.com/74BMFmoCkY
— Bradd Jaffy (@BraddJaffy) February 15, 2017
Even the intelligence community is pushing back against the hype involving the Flynn call to the Russian ambassador:
Intelligence Official: Transcripts Of Flynn's Calls Don't Show Criminal Wrongdoing https://t.co/h4wKxeKm8F
— NPR (@NPR) February 15, 2017
And even the Russians, most likely presuming that the intercepted call transcript will eventually be made public, denied that the Obama sanctions were even discussed:
BREAKING: Trump's national security adviser Michael Flynn and Russian ambassador to Washington did not discuss lifting sanctions – Kremlin
— Reuters (@Reuters) February 13, 2017
This comports with the interview Flynn gave to Richard Pollock at The Daily Caller just hours before his resignation:
Flynn insisted that he crossed no lines in his telephone conversation with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak: “If I did, believe me, the FBI would be down my throat, my clearances would be pulled. There were no lines crossed.”
Flynn said there was a brief discussion of the 35 Russian diplomats who were being expelled by Obama in retaliation for Moscow’s alleged interference in the 2016 campaign.
“It wasn’t about sanctions. It was about the 35 guys who were thrown out,” Flynn said. “So that’s what it turned out to be. It was basically, ‘Look, I know this happened. We’ll review everything.’ I never said anything such as, ‘We’re going to review sanctions,’ or anything like that.”
So there’s still more reporting to come on that front. If and when the call transcript does emerge, as many believe it will, there may be many media outlets that will owe Flynn an apology. We’ll have to wait and see if that’s the case.
That leaves yet one more issue: the dangerous and highly illegal leaks of intercepted communications.
If the FBI says he didn’t lie, then the only crime is the leaking of Flynn’s phone conversations. https://t.co/1h3my8zLM7
— Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) February 16, 2017
Congress is now getting in on the act:
Tonight, @jasoninthehouse & @RepGoodlatte sent a letter to the DOJ inspector general on potentially classified national security information pic.twitter.com/wqlwjQmN1c
— Oversight Committee Republicans (@GOPoversight) February 16, 2017
On that issue, our own Michael Walsh dropped an important reminder.
Surprise: At the End, Obama Administration Gave NSA Broad New Powers https://t.co/os3tk6uAbt #trending pic.twitter.com/eiLqdZbyrv
— PJ Media (@PJMedia_com) February 15, 2017
Meanwhile, another explosive story from Shane Harris at the Wall Street Journal is now making the rounds claiming that intelligence agencies and officials are withholding information from the Trump administration.
U.S. intelligence has kept sensitive information from Trump over leak concerns, underscoring deep mistrusthttps://t.co/Hp2gTWU8CT
— The Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) February 16, 2017
But this story, too, is coming under fire from the intelligence community itself:
Full DNI statement regarding @WSJ piece pic.twitter.com/OJr9aVy5qH
— Mosheh Oinounou (@Mosheh) February 16, 2017
ODNI denies WSJ report says "any suggestion that the U.S. Intelligence Community is withholding information…not true" – @meekwire pic.twitter.com/1Z8917hLRI
— Joshua Hoyos (@JoshuaHoyos) February 16, 2017
Separate Sr US intel source on WSJ report: "…and I have no idea where this baseless claim originates.” 2/2
— Joshua Hoyos (@JoshuaHoyos) February 16, 2017
Senior intelligence source pushing back on WSJ report about intel officials withholding info from POTUS, tells @meekwire "this is not true."
— Michael Del Moro (@MikeDelMoro) February 16, 2017
That is true, I was told that. https://t.co/DzfussA4Jv
— James Gordon Meek (@meekwire) February 16, 2017
Others are saying that if Harris has been duped by his sources, he should reveal them:
That the @shaneharris got published with such bad info is concerning, still. When sources burn you, I say burn ‘em back. Out ‘em.
— Mollie (@MZHemingway) February 16, 2017
Will these stories join the growing list of botched establishment media reporting since Trump’s inauguration?
https://twitter.com/BecketAdams/status/829824500057440256
https://twitter.com/BecketAdams/status/830416101808992256
Stay tuned…
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