Posted on 01/13/2017 9:00:54 AM PST by TheRef
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Why CNN's report was even worse than BuzzFeed's unsubstantiated report |
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Aaron Rossiter | 1/13/17 | 11:50PM/EST CNN reported that a two-page summary of a political opposition research file compiled by Trump's political opponents was included in a presidential level classified briefing. In the CNN report, they indicated that the intelligence chiefs considered the political operative who compiled the file credible and his sources credible. WATCH JAKE TAPPER'S REVIEW OF THE REPORT Because it cited the intelligence chiefs as likely believing the political operative, the CNN report left a strong impression that the file probably contained true information. The BuzzFeed report, perhaps unintentionally, demonstrated that the dossier was full of disinformation. CNN and the intelligence chiefs knew the contents of the dossier when they concluded that the source was credible. It is obvious that somebody is playing politics here, and it's probably both CNN and the intelligence chiefs. After informing readers that the political operative was credible in the eyes of the intelligence chiefs, the CNN report also indicated that the intelligence chiefs wanted to alert Trump that the Russians were claiming that they had contact with Trump's staff throughout the campaign. So now the CNN report is putting words into the mouths of Russian operatives who were never monitored, alleged words for which no evidence exists, to smear the next President as conspiring with Russia to undermine the US election. That "factual" conclusion was made based solely on the discredited thirty-five page dossier. Outrageous. Next, CNN claims intelligence chiefs wanted to alert Trump that this sort of harmful information is being circulated in intelligence circles. This seems like the only legitimate reason to have included the two-page summary of the dossier, to warn Trump of a disinformation campaign. CNN, however, interpreted the inclusion of the two-page summary in the classified report as an endorsement of its truth value. More on that below. The problem is that the summary was of a thirty-five page opposition file that is full of demonstrated false claims, unverifiable claims and some unverified claims. It has zero demonstrated true claims. The summary should be treated with equal contempt by journalists as the full thirty-five page dossier with respect to its truth value. CNN should not have mentioned the summary or the dossier if they wanted to confine their reporting to true facts. They certainly shouldn't have reported that intelligence sources consider the source credible without verifying its credibility. CNN is guilty of blindly trusting intelligence sources, sources that have a history of selectively leaking information to create false impressions for political reasons. CNN is in the best case scenario a willing dupe, and in the worst case, a willing ally to distortion. They are casting shadows on Trump's credibility with no grounding to do so and they know it. HOW CNN TRASHED TRUMP WITHOUT REPORTING THE DOSSIER DETAILS CNN used a clever trick to suggest that the dossier had true information without actually detailing the allegations of the dossier. As the amended report now suggests, the CIA included this in the briefing primarily to show Trump that this type of opposition dirt was circulating, not primarily because it was plausibly true.
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The key part of the CNN's story is this, "classified documents . . . included allegations that Russian operatives claim to have compromising personal and financial information about Mr. Trump." CNN plays up the fact that the two-page summary was classified to make them seem important and likely true. The documents were probably classified by CIA to conceal their contents and keep them out of the public eye because they are so explosive and very likely unsubstantiated, not to raise the public profile of the documents. But somewhere along the line an intelligence analyst or an intelligence chief decided to label the political operative as credible, thereby suggesting this disinformation might be true. It's hard to know because intelligence is shadowy and concealed. CNN knows this and should have been more careful with its reporting. This is CNN's trick. CNN used the classification to justify raising the public profile of the documents, reasoning that the mere classification of a document suggests its newsworthy. But intelligence classified the documents to conceal them from the public because of their lack of credibility, a fact which should make them less newsworthy, not more so. Unless their intent was the same as the political operative who compiled them, to smear the next President with false claims, CNN should not have reported on their existence. All the allegations were made by one man, a political operative paid to produce dirt for Trump opponents. No Russian operatives are sources, only this political operative. No Russian operatives ever claimed to have compromising information of any kind. Liberal reporter Glenn Greenwald put CNN's report in proper context, "Once CNN strongly hinted at these allegations, it left it to the public imagination to conjure up the dirt Russia allegedly had to blackmail and control Trump." This gives Trump's opponents the ability to propose all sorts of horror stories to undermine Trump. CNN also knows that if they raise the public profile of the documents, non-journalistic websites would publish the details of the dossier. CNN knew the false allegations would fill the public sphere because of their report. They probably did not anticipate that such a high profile media website run by a political journalist would have published them, and thereby invite intense scrutiny on the information. BuzzFeed put it all out there at once to be seen by everyone and it was a massive stink bomb. BuzzFeed unintentionally exposed CNN's dishonest and partisan political strategy by drawing heightened public analysis of the information CNN was basing it's report on. Whoops. Colossal MSM fail. BuzzFeed's publication of the full thirty-five page report demonstrated why CNN's report was so dishonest. CNN was giving the impression that there was something to it when there wasn't. The intelligence chiefs seem to have been doing the same thing. CNN and the intelligence chiefs couldn't have imagined that a media source would publish the full report. What BuzzFeed did was terrible, but it had the silver lining of demonstrating why CNN's highly suggestive report was even worse. BuzzFeed's silly story was going nowhere. CNN was trying to take Trump out. What CNN did was worse than what BuzzFeed did because the BuzzFeed report presented the bogus facts on which it was based. BuzzFeed shouldn't have done that either, but at least it was obviously bogus. CNN relied on the same disinformation but presented it as likely reliable information, and that is worse than just laying out the disinformation for readers to judge for themselves. Neither organization was right, but CNN was a greater offender to truth.
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Here’s how I view it. Horsesh!t smells the same whether you present it on a silver tray or you present it on a paper plate.
CNN’s report is far worse than Buzfeed. CNN lends an aura of respectability to the summary, which leave it up to the imagination of the viewers what the actual damaging information might be. Thus, Trump is destroyed by rumor, and is forced to deny any crazy claim that might be made.
Releasing the full 35 page document did Trump a favor - it was no longer up to anyone’s imagination, but something concrete that could be disproven, which it was.
What happened to the story that this was, in part, a 4Chan hoax?
It is a 4Chan hoax
The media just won’t report it
The whole story was outrageous. Made even more outrageous by how absurd it was to begin with. The idea that a grown man would pay prostitutes to urinate in the bed of a hotel because his eventual opponent slept in it is ridiculous.
After some thought, I am happy they ran with this. This was an absolute victory for Trump on so many levels. It exposed the undermining “leaks” from the intel community. It proved there are some in that community working to undermine the incoming President for politics. It exposed the blatant bias and lack of credibility of some big players in the MSM and other media have taken note. It made CNN look ridiculous. The list goes on.
Trump is winning and he has not even assumed the office!
CNN, exposed for what they truly are ... FAKE NEWS!
Well written article. Ben Shapiro needs to read it as he has been defending CNN’s reporting on this issue the last two days. Thanks for posting.
Yes, as has Glenn Beck. The typical crowd. Very frustrating. It appears their hatred for Trump is greater than their disgust with a dishonest leftist media.
This is the best article I have read all week!
And that’s something because I am a news junkie!
Thanks!
bump
They were running with the fake news like major breaking news all day. Of course they were pushing it at CNN.
CNN = Gossip
National Inquirer has more truth than CNN
SHep Smith thinks CNN should not be “belittled” by their actions. Please get SHep to go anywhere.
Me too.
This report has been kicking around apparently for months. Media and government pols hinting about nefarious activities by Trump just gets the liberal troops screaming louder.
While uncouth to post it...the sleazy doc. trumps their haphazard reporting.
I'm glad the cone-of-silence doc. met sunshine.
As of yesterday, CNN still refers to the report as ‘unsubstantiated’, which means it might be true.
This is too late to still claim this. The report is known to be false.
This is why CNN is ‘Fake News’.
I bet that CNN along with all the rest of the media raised hell with Trump when he said re the birther issue that he was just repeating what was in the news or other people had said.
The differences of course are major:
1. Trump was not a candidate for anything in 2008.
2. He never referred to the birther reports as being from a source deemed credible by all the intelligence agencies.
3. That credibility imprimatur by CNN (which I think everyone is back-peddling on as fast as they can) raised interest in the allegations and probably was the reason that the allegations became a cause celebre’ and part of a media storm after the press conference.
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