Hans Mahncke writes for the Federalist about a legacy media outlet’s major role in spreading misinformation.
Newly released documents from Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Tulsi Gabbard have shattered the official narrative surrounding Russian interference in the 2016 election. A previously classified draft of the Presidential Daily Briefing (PDB), prepared for President Barack Obama on Dec. 8, 2016, shows that the formal intelligence assessment was that Russia had neither influenced the outcome of the election nor shown any preference for Donald Trump over Hillary Clinton. It was also revealed that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the National Security Agency (NSA) determined there was insufficient evidence to assert that Russia had hacked the Democratic National Committee (DNC).
Yet these candid assessments were immediately overturned. The narrative was flipped entirely, now claiming that Russia had interfered specifically to help Trump win. To lend this reversal an air of legitimacy, Obama ordered an Intelligence Community Assessment explicitly designed to support the new storyline. This dramatic about-face was immediately echoed in the press, with The Washington Post at the center of the disinformation campaign.
On the morning of Dec. 9, 2016 — just one day after the draft PDB was circulated among Obama officials — The Washington Post published an article co-authored by Ellen Nakashima reporting that President Obama had ordered a review of Russia’s role in the election. The article stated that Russia had “attempted through cyber means to interfere in, if not actively influence, the outcome” of the 2016 race.
Citing this article, the report accompanying the DNI’s new document release concludes that “Deep State officials in the IC [intelligence community]” had begun “leaking blatantly false intelligence to the Washington Post.” The DNI report goes on to state that later that same day, another leak to the Post falsely claimed the CIA had “concluded in a secret assessment that Russia intervened” in the election to help Trump.
The post Docs reveal WaPo’s key role in Russia election hoax first appeared on John Locke Foundation.
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Author: Mitch Kokai
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