very clever way to destroy fake news without calling it fake news... https://taibbi.substack.com/p/russiagate-is-wmd-times-a-million short expert of the article below Note to readers: in light of news that Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller’s investigation is complete, I’m releasing this chapter of Hate Inc. early, with a few new details added up top. Nobody wants to hear this, but news that Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller is headed home without issuing new charges is a death-blow for the reputation of the American news media. As has long been rumored, the former FBI chief’s independent probe will result in multiple indictments and convictions, but no “presidency-wrecking” conspiracy charges, or anything that would meet the layman’s definition of “collusion” with Russia. With the caveat that even this news might somehow turn out to be botched, the key detail in the many stories about the end of the Mueller investigation was best expressed by the New York Times: A senior Justice Department official said that Mr. Mueller would not recommend new indictments. The Times tried to soften the emotional blow for the millions of Americans trained in these years to place hopes for the overturn of the Trump presidency in Mueller. Nobody even pretended it was supposed to be a fact-finding mission, instead of an act of faith. The Special Prosecutor literally became a religious figure during the last few years, with votive candles sold in his image and Saturday Night Live cast members singing “All I Want for Christmas is You” to him featuring the rhymey line: “Mueller please come through, because the only option is a coup.” The Times story today tried to preserve Santa Mueller’s reputation, noting Trump’s Attorney General William Barr’s reaction was an “endorsement” of the fineness of Mueller’s work: In an apparent endorsement of an investigation that Mr. Trump has relentlessly attacked as a “witch hunt,” Mr. Barr said Justice Department officials never had to intervene to keep Mr. Mueller from taking an inappropriate or unwarranted step. Mueller, in other words, never stepped out of the bounds of his job description. But could the same be said for the news media? For those anxious to keep the dream alive, the Times published its usual graphic of Trump-Russia “contacts,” inviting readers to keep making connections. But in a separate piece by Peter Baker, the paper noted the Mueller news had dire consequences for the press: It will be a reckoning for President Trump, to be sure, but also for Robert S. Mueller III, the special counsel, for Congress, for Democrats, for Republicans, for the news media and, yes, for the system as a whole… This is a damning page one admission by the Times. Despite the connect-the-dots graphic in its other story, and despite the astonishing, emotion-laden editorial the paper also ran suggesting “We don’t need to read the Mueller report” because we know Trump is guilty, Baker at least began the work of preparing Times readers for a hard question: “Have journalists connected too many dots that do not really add up?” The paper was signaling it understood there would now be questions about whether or not news outlets like itself made galactic errors by betting heavily on a new, politicized approach, trying to be true to “history’s judgment” on top of the hard-enough job of just being true. Worse, in a brutal irony everyone should have seen coming, the press has now handed Trump the mother of campaign issues heading into 2020. Nothing Trump is accused of from now on by the press will be believed by huge chunks of the population, a group that (perhaps thanks to this story) is now larger than his original base. As Baker notes, a full 50.3% of respondents in a poll conducted this month said they agree with Trump the Mueller probe is a “witch hunt.” Stories have been coming out for some time now hinting Mueller’s final report might leave audiences “disappointed,” as if a President not being a foreign spy could somehow be bad news. Openly using such language has, all along, been an indictment. Imagine how tone-deaf you’d have to be to not realize it makes youlook bad, when news does not match audience expectations you raised. To be unaware of this is mind-boggling, the journalistic equivalent of walking outside without pants. There will be people protesting: the Mueller report doesn’t prove anything! What about the 37 indictments? The convictions? The Trump tower revelations? The lies! The meeting with Don, Jr.? The financial matters!There’s an ongoing grand jury investigation, and possible sealed indictments, and the House will still investigate, and… Stop. Just stop. Any journalist who goes there is making it worse. more at link...
here is another take... https://twitter.com/ggreenwald Can't the people who got rich exploiting liberal #Resistance fears by feeding them false conspiracies at least content themselves to their bulging bank accounts from the scam they pulled off & have one day of silence where they don't try to pretend that they were right all along? 7 replies33 retweets146 likes Show this thread Glenn GreenwaldVerified account@ggreenwald 13m13 minutes ago Glenn Greenwald Retweeted David Corn The Mueller Report that says that nothing we've been telling you for 2.5 years is actually true does not change anything, does not remotely reflect on our journalistic credibility, and doesn't in any way mean you should look to other authorities on these matters. My latest: Glenn Greenwald added, David CornVerified account@DavidCornDC The Mueller report and Barr's letter do not change this core element of the Russia scandal: Trump and his crew engaged in a profound act of betrayal. I explain in this article. Please read and share. https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2019/03/trump-mueller-report-russia/… 18 replies45 retweets167 likes Show this thread Glenn Greenwald Retweeted Ryan ChittumVerified account@ryanchittum 35m35 minutes ago Ryan Chittum Retweeted Glenn Greenwald I come back to this @jackshafer piece a lot https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/04/25/media-bubble-real-journalism-jobs-east-coast-215048… Ryan Chittum added, Glenn GreenwaldVerified account@ggreenwald A February, 2108 tweet. Nothing kills journalism worse than cowardly group-think, and it's worse than ever since they're congregated in the same places in Brooklyn and the West Coast and petrified of saying anything that makes them unpopular among their peers: 1 reply6 retweets20 likes Glenn GreenwaldVerified account@ggreenwald 25m25 minutes ago We should probably get some update about what happened to the source who @emptywheel voluntarily and proactively turned over to the FBI because, she claimed, he "played a significant role in the Russian election attack on the US." What happened to him? 22 replies50 retweets148 likes Glenn GreenwaldVerified account@ggreenwald 27m27 minutes ago Glenn Greenwald Retweeted wideofthepost It'd be so nice to get reacquainted with my old MSNBC friends who I so enjoyed talking to during the Bush years and early Obama years but mysteriously & sadly haven't heard from over the last 2 years. Let's do lunch - or a TV segment about what just happened & MSNBC"s role in it: Glenn Greenwald added, wideofthepost@wideofthepost Seriously, @chrislhayes I dare you to invite @ggreenwald onto your show on Monday. After 2+ years of your network more or less blacklisting his POV in favor of a cast of CIA officials, prosecutors, campaign consultants and Watergate alums, it would be a good start to a reckoning. 45 replies112 retweets490 likes Glenn GreenwaldVerified account@ggreenwald 37m37 minutes ago Glenn Greenwald Retweeted Glenn Greenwald A February, 2108 tweet. Nothing kills journalism worse than cowardly group-think, and it's worse than ever since they're congregated in the same places in Brooklyn and the West Coast and petrified of saying anything that makes them unpopular among their peers: Glenn Greenwald added, Glenn GreenwaldVerified account@ggreenwald What @KFILE says here is true: the collusion skepticism expressed by @blakehounshell is shared by many reporters. It's therefore worth asking why it's so rarely included in discussions on cable news and other… 33 replies70 retweets232 likes Glenn GreenwaldVerified account@ggreenwald 42m42 minutes ago Glenn Greenwald Retweeted Rich Lowry Thanks, @RichLowry. There were many others on the left who did it, too, and were the targets of the most vile smears and attempted sustained career & reputational injury from people who will never apologize: @aaronjmate, @mtracey, @mtaibbi, @MaxBlumenthal, @RaniaKhalek & others: Glenn Greenwald added, Rich LowryVerified account@RichLowry Hats off to @ggreenwald and @KatrinaNation for consistently pushing back on the insanity on their own side on Russia collusion for the last 2 years 57 replies124 retweets432 likes Glenn GreenwaldVerified account@ggreenwald 1h1 hour ago Check every MSNBC personality, CNN law "expert," liberal-centrist outlets and #Resistance scam artist and see if you see even an iota of self-reflection, humility or admission of massive error.