Matt Taibbi Rips Rachel Maddow
Please consider Matt Taibbi rips Rachel Maddow for defending Russiagate
Substack journalist Matt Taibbi tore into MSNBC star Rachel Maddow for appearing to double down in her Russiagate coverage even as details emerging from the Durham probe continue to undercut the Democrat and media-driven narrative during the Trump administration.
Special Counsel John Durham charged Steele dossier sub-source Igor Danchenko’s arrest with five counts of making false statements to the FBI but the indictment also shed light on his ties to Democratic operatives.
Maddow, who became the most prominent TV host to push the Russia collusion narrative, addressed the latest developments in the Durham probe- but seemed to dismiss the severity of the new revelations.
“If the goal here is for this Trump-holdover special prosecutor to try to discredit the whole Russia investigation by arresting various sources for that investigation, to try to discredit the Steele dossier because so many people have been led to think that that’s the basis for the whole investigation, to essentially get payback on anyone involved in the Russia investigation no matter how far down the chain, well, what do the actual investigators think about that, the people who actually carried out the Trump Russia investigation itself,” Maddow asked.
Rachel Maddow’s Shocking New Low
Matt Taibbi calls Maddow’s response a Shocking New Low
Yesterday, Special Counsel John Durham indicted Brookings Institute analyst Igor Danchenko, better known as the primary source for Christopher Steele, the ex-spy who compiled the now-infamous “Steele Dossier” on behalf of Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign in 2016.
The case has implications for higher-ranking figures, but the indictment is most immediately devastating to the reputation of the many famous news personalities who hyped the Steele story. They almost all look terrible today, but the response by MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow was a thing beyond. Whatever the category below “disgraced journalist” is, she entered it with gusto with last night’s performance.
Much of the indictment concerns false statements Danchenko allegedly made to the FBI concerning his interactions with “PR Executive-1,” described as a “U.S.-based individual… who was a long-time participant in Democratic Party politics and was then an executive at a U.S. public relations firm.”
A key claim of the Steele dossier involved a “well-developed conspiracy of cooperation” between Trump and Russia that supposedly went back years. The claim was sourced to an anonymous phone call Danchenko thought came from the former president of the Russian-American Chamber of Commerce, Sergei Millian. Danchenko moreover reportedly told the FBI that he and the “anonymous caller” made an appointment to meet in New York.
The indictment, however, asserts that Danchenko never even spoke to Millian, repeatedly emailing him and getting no response. As for that trip to New York, hoo boy:
From on about July 26, 2016 through July 28, 2016, DANCHENKO traveled to New York with a family member. On or about July 28, 2016, DANCHENKO visited, among other places, the Bronx Zoo with the family member. During this trip, DANCHENKO did not meet or communicate with Chamber President-I.
It’s bad enough that the “well-developed” conspiracy tale appears to have been sourced to a graduate of the Jayson Blair school of investigation, who was strolling in the Bronx Zoo during the time when he was supposedly landing the scoop of a lifetime.
Every reporter who touched that allegation should be ashamed, and Rachel is at the front of that huge crowd. Among other things, she emphasized the importance of Steele’s “broader assertions,” repeating the claim that the “Russia regime has been cultivating, supporting and assisting Trump for at least five years,” going so far as to praise Steele for keeping his “head down” and listening to his “deep cover sources” like Danchenko.
The indictment shows an email chain in which Danchenko tells Dolan he’s working on a “project against Trump,” and is looking for any “thought, rumor, allegation” that might be useful.
Rachel not only isn’t upset, she’s expressing pride in having been burned, and is digging in for more.
Rachel Maddow Tries to Salvage the Last Tatters of Her Reputation
Matt Taibbi is not the only one blasting Maddow. Glenn Greenwald also took Maddow to the woodshed.
“Rachel Maddow Tries to Salvage the Last Tatters of Her Reputation,” says Glenn Greenwald.
“Nobody really in the media is trying to dispute any longer that the obvious truth that Steele dossier is a fraud. Instead they are trying to cut off the cancerous limb.”
Please play at least the first 4.5 minutes of the video.
Greenwald makes the case it’s not just the Steele portion was a fraud, it all was.
If you play the video further, Greenwald explains the red flags that caused him to discredit the story. He compared the setup to McCarthyism. The second flag was lack of evidence that Trump participated in the DNC hacking.
“For a very long time all we were getting was anonymous leaks.”
He then went on to compare the setup to the lies that led to the invasion of Iraq.
“It was not Fox news that convinced most liberals and Democrats like Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton, and John Kerry, etc., to support that invasion. It was the New York Times, and NBC news, and the New Yorker, and the Atlantic.”
Less than 15 years later the exact thing happened. This time, the actual viewers of these liberal media outlets don’t care the story was fake explained Greenwald.
“They [the viewers] actually think it’s a positive thing they endorsed the [anti-trump] narrative whether it was true or not as long as the goal was as noble as stopping Trump.”
Because of that there is no pressure on the liberal outlets to admit they were horribly wrong.
Trumpian Witch Hunt
I am often accused of having TDS – Trump Derangement Syndrome
It’s true that I dislike Trump. But in general I dislike politicians. I went hard after Bush, then Obama, then Trump, and now Biden. I did not like any of them.
The fact of the matter, for all those accusing me of TDS, is that I defended Trump from the beginning on Russiagate.
May 11, 2017: Trump Fired Comey: So What? Wasn’t Comey Incompetent?
The amount of nonsense written about Trump’s firing of FBI director James Comey is staggering.
Democrats allege the firing is proof that Trump is hiding something. So here we go again with absurd allegations and innuendo that Trump conspired with Russia to steal the election from Hillary.
Russia Witch Hunt
A call for a probe into Trump’s ties with Russia is beyond absurd.
It would make more sense to investigate Hillary than to go down this Russia conspiracy path.
May 16, 2017: “Terrifying, Reckless, and Deeply Disturbing” Reports: High on Stupidity
“Our mantra should be I.T.N—Impeach Trump Now,” said Rep. Al Green, D-Texas.
“President Trump is not above the law. He has committed an impeachable act and must be charged. To do otherwise would cause some Americans to lose respect for, and obedience to, our societal norms,” said Green.
High on Stupidity
Matthew Roza is high on something, most likely sheer stupidity. Rep Green is in outer space.
In Praise of Talking
I praise Trump for talking with Russia. It’s one of few things he has done right. Ironically, it’s the thing he is most attacked over.
May 16, 2017: Classified Bombshell Hyperventilation
Some people I would normally expect not to lose their minds following anti-Trump hype did lose their minds. Of course, the standard nutcases one might expect would lose their minds did so as well.
The result is has been a steady stream of nonsense all day regarding Trump’s alleged disclosure of highly classified information to Russia.
It took a collaboration of six (Jack Goldsmith, Susan Hennessey, Quinta Jurecic, Matthew Kahn, Benjamin Wittes, Elishe Julian) to come up with Bombshell: Initial Thoughts on the Washington Post’s Game-Changing Story.
The Washington Post this afternoon published a stunning story reporting that President Trump disclosed highly-classified information to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Ambassador Sergey Kislyak during their visit to the Oval Office last week.
After firing off rounds of innuendo from BuzzFeed, the New York Time, the Washington Post, and Reuters, the authors admit “the President did not ‘leak’ classified information in violation of law. He is allowed to do what he did.”
The New York Times joins the BS parade with its take Trump Revealed Highly Classified Intelligence to Russia, in Break With Ally, Officials Say.
What Did Trump Disclose?
The answer is “information about an Islamic State plot” of some sort.
Good grief. After all the above hyperventilation, I have a simple question: Why shouldn’t we disclose to Russia pertinent facts regarding Islamic state plots?
Off the Deep End
Nancy Pelosi asks ‘What do the Russians have on Donald Trump?’
In another clickbait article Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz hypes ‘This is the most serious charge ever made against a sitting president’
When you write bullsheet like that, expect to be mocked, not taken serious, at least by any rational person.
For the record, I disagree with Trump on NAFTA, free trade in general, the Wall, his immigration order, and numerous other things.
However, talking with Russia makes sense, warmongering with Russia over Syria doesn’t.
Impeachment?! Over What?
May 15, 2019
March 22, 2019: Trump Witch Hunt Over: No American Was Even Charged With Conspiring With Russia
Huge Media Reckoning Owed
A huge media reckoning is owed, but don’t expect one.
March 24, 2019: Mueller Report Synopsis: “No Evidence of Collusion Between Trump and Russia”
5: “Mueller Says Report Does Not Conclude Trump Committed Crime, but Also Does Not Exonerate President”
Witch Hunt Will Continue
Democrats will latch on to point number 5 above, ensuring the witch hunt will continue.
November 15, 2019: Democrat Impeachment Star Witnesses Useful as Dust
The impeachment farce should have ended long ago. Instead, it lingers on and on and on.
Witch Hunt
Russia was nothing but a political witch hunt from the beginning.
Dead End After Dead End
Witch hunts inevitably turn into scenarios like this: Dead end after dead end.
I also defended Trump and his appointment of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
On numerous occasions I called the first impeachment a huge mistake that would backfire.
Clear, Unmistakable Message
I did support the second impeachment and firmly stand by it.
But the clear, unmistakable message is that I consistently and repeatedly defended Trump on charges related to Russia.
I never believed the lies of Maddow, the Steele dossier, the Washington Post and all the other liberal BS about Russia.
I am proud to have called it a witch hunt from the beginning, never trusting all those anonymous sources.
Thanks for Tuning In!
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Mish
As someone in the middle. Fox news is not a bastion of truth either. One part of the problem is due to funding there is a lack of true investigative reporting.
“The Democrats seem to be basically nicer people, but they have demonstrated time and again that they have the management skills of celery. They’re the kind of people who’d stop to help you change a flat, but would somehow manage to set your car on fire. I would be reluctant to entrust them with a Cuisinart, let alone the economy. The Republicans, on the other hand, would know how to fix your tire, but they wouldn’t bother to stop because they’d want to be on time for Ugly Pants Night at the country club”
― Dave Barry, Dave Barry Slept Here: A Short of History of the United States
But before wrapping up, Mueller’s investigation did result in indictments for 34 individuals – seven of whom have been convicted so far – including some senior members of the Trump campaign (although none of the charges involved a conspiracy between the campaign and Russians). Yes, Russiagate was a fraud.