The truth about Buzzfeed and Trump

[First posted by BZ at BloviatingZeppelin.net.]

Let's look at President-elect Donald Trump's first press conference. Then let's discuss the circumstances.

 

During President-elect Donald Trump’s press conference today, Trump took aim at “fake news” regarding the release of an unverified dossier by Buzzfeed, calling them a “failing piece of garbage.” 

Following that, he ended up getting into an argument with a CNN reporter, who he also called out during the presser over their report on a two-page synopsis they claim was presented to Trump. With Trump looking to call on other reporters, Jim Acosta yelled out, “Since you are attacking us, can you give us a question?” “Not you,” Trump said. “Your organization is terrible!” Acosta pressed on, “You are attacking our news organization, can you give us a chance to ask a question, sir?” Trump countered by telling him “don’t be rude.” “I’m not going to give you a question,” Trump responded. “I’m not going to give you a question. You are fake news.”

It would appear there is no love lost between CNN and Trump. Let's begin to explain, from BuzzFeed.com:

These Reports Allege Trump Has Deep Ties To Russia

A dossier, compiled by a person who has claimed to be a former British intelligence official, alleges Russia has compromising information on Trump. The allegations are unverified, and the report contains errors. by Ken Bensinger, Miriam Elder and Mark Schoofs A dossier making explosive — but unverified — allegations that the Russian government has been “cultivating, supporting and assisting” President-elect Donald Trump for years and gained compromising information about him has been circulating among elected officials, intelligence agents, and journalists for weeks.

Translation: we don't much care that anything is verified or corroborated; we're going to throw it onto the wall in any event because the information can do nothing but assail Donald Trump. CNN, equally despising Trump but perhaps even more clearly craven than Buzzfeed justifies publishing the story and promoting it (yes, I watched CNN do just that) under the guise of "news about news is news." Damn the facts or corroboration.

In a nutshell, backed by the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal, this is what occurred.

A still-unidentified wealthy GOP donor -- clearly not a good pal of Donald Trump -- hired a firm in 2015 called Fusion GPS to assemble opposition research on Donald Trump. Fusion ended up hiring a former British MI-6 operative named Christopher Steele, in the spring of 2016, who wrote the 35-page report on Trump. Please let me point out that the DC firm Fusion GPS is the same one hired by Planned Parenthood to put a positive spin on videos showing the sale of baby parts. This is "good to know" information.

Because the meme was "in the air," Steele was to dig up smegma on Trump's "obvious" ties to Russia. Steele talked to some Russians and the gossip was included in the report later compiled.

The information somehow "found its way" to the FBI. That was not magic, of course. It was purposeful, by way of Arizona Senator John McCain.

Yes, John McCain -- clearly not a good pal of Donald Trump -- got this hot mess started. He sent one of his own operatives across the Atlantic in order to acquire Trump's dossier from Steele. McCain discovered the dossier's existence when he was at a Canadian meeting with Sir Andrew Wood, a former associate of UK's Tony Blair who is, also, not a good pal of Donald Trump, and subsequently sent an aide to acquire the report, in August of 2016.

An interesting aside. Very few persons have dared to mention the direct involvement of Senator John McCain, even that stalwart "the spin stops here" Fox News guy, Bill O'Reilly, who purposely avoided mentioning the involvement of McCain in his Thursday, January 12th Talking Points Commentary broadcast.

John McCain turned the dossier over to the FBI, saying he did "what any citizen would do."

The report contained this:

Lurid sex claims

The report states that in 2013 Trump hired prostitutes to urinate on the bed of the Presidential Suite at the Moscow Ritz Carlton, where he knew Barack and Michelle Obama had previously stayed.

It says: 'Trump's unorthodox behavior in Russia over the years had provided the authorities there with enough embarrassing material on the now Republican presidential candidate to be able to blackmail him if they so wished.'

Trump ridiculed the idea, pointing out that Russian hotel rooms are known to be rigged with cameras and describing himself as a 'germophobe'. 

Property 'sweeteners'

The document states that Trump had declined 'sweetener' real estate deals in Russia that the Kremlin lined up in order to cultivate him.

The business proposals were said to be 'in relation to the ongoing 2018 World Cup soccer tournament'.

Russia 'cultivated' Trump for five years

The dossier claimed that the Russian regime had been 'cultivating, supporting and assisting Trump for at least five years'.

According to the document, one source even claimed that 'the Trump operation was both supported and directed by Russian President Vladimir Putin' with the aim being to 'sow discord'. 

A dossier on Hillary Clinton

At one point the memo suggests Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov 'controlled' another dossier containing compromising material on Hillary Clinton compiled over 'many years'.

Elsewhere in the document, it is claimed that Putin was 'motivated by fear and hatred of Hillary Clinton.'

Peskov poured scorn on the claims today and said they were 'pulp fiction'. 

Clandestine meetings

At one point the memo says there were reports of 'clandestine meetings' between Donald Trump's lawyer Michael Cohen and Kremlin representatives in August last year in Prague.

However, Trump's counsel Michael Cohen today spoke out against allegations that he secretly met with Kremlin officials - saying that he had never been to Prague.

It has now emerged that the dossier was referring to a different person of the same name.

On Halloween, October 31st of last year, Mother Jones magazine -- Leftist Paper Central -- ran the David Corn story. No one else covered it at that point; not Fox, not NBC, not CBS or ABC.

On January 5th, Obama was briefed on intelligence and in that briefing the dossier was revealed. Even Obama asked why the dossier information, unsubstantiated and unconfirmed, was included in the briefing. On January 6th, Donald Trump received the same intelligence information from four quite senior US intelligence chiefs.

Simultaneously, Paul Ryan, Nancy Pelosi, Mitch McConnell, Little Chuckie Schumer, Devin Nunes, Adam Schiff, Richard Burr and Mark Warner received the same information. CNN then was the recipient of information from a leaker that Obama and Trump had been briefed on the contents.

That's where Buzzfeed stepped in it, literally and figuratively, with their story. Please click and then read the article.


Many of the allegations have been completely and utterly discredited whilst none have been confirmed in any fashion whatsoever.

Perhaps now you're beginning to understand the reason behind Donald Trump's unhappiness at the press conference.

The bottom line is this: the information -- uncorroborated, unconfirmed, unsubstantiated -- was released with the sole purpose of smearing Trump even before taking office.

This is markedly different from the Wikileaks information about Hillary Clinton, the DNC, John Podesta and the American Media Maggots, insofar as none of that information has been challenged or refuted. The evidence is as plain as day. Those things occurred. The players are simply pissed because they were caught.

The gloves are off. It's bare-knuckled brawling now. The American Media Maggots aren't even making the slightest pretense of being unbiased or even semi-truthful. Any journalistic forms of standards or ethics are predominantly gone. It's all about innuendo and allegations unsubstantiated. 

Even journalist Bob Woodward is angry with the media and US intelligence agencies. From the NYPost.com:

Bob Woodward calls Trump dossier ‘garbage’

by Marisa Schultz WASHINGTON — Legendary journalist Bob Woodward on Sunday clashed with his former “Watergate” reporting partner over the intelligence briefing of President-elect Donald Trump on the salacious allegations contained in an unverified dossier of opposition research. “I’ve lived in this world for 45 years where you get things and people make allegations,” Woodward told FOX News Sunday. “That is a garbage document. It never should have been presented in–- as part of an intelligence briefing.”

Further, Bob Woodward had serious words about US intelligence.

Woodward also said that “Trump’s point of view” was being “under-reported,” noting that outgoing White House Counsel Neil Eggleston could have given the briefing to incoming Counsel Don McGahn. “So Trump’s right to be upset about that,” Woodward said. “And I think if you look at the real chronology and the nature of the battle here, those intelligence chiefs who were the best we’ve had, who were terrific and have done great work made a mistake here. And when people make mistakes, they should apologize.”

Glenn Greenwald at TheIntercept.com also wrote:

The Deep State Goes to War With President-Elect, Using Unverified Claims, as Democrats Cheer

This is the faction that is now engaged in open warfare against the duly elected and already widely disliked president-elect, Donald Trump. They are using classic Cold War dirty tactics and the defining ingredients of what has until recently been denounced as “Fake News.” Their most valuable instrument is the U.S. media, much of which reflexively reveres, serves, believes, and sides with hidden intelligence officials. And Democrats, still reeling from their unexpected and traumatic election loss, as well as a systemic collapse of their party, seemingly divorced further and further from reason with each passing day, are willing — eager — to embrace any claim, cheer any tactic, align with any villain, regardless of how unsupported, tawdry, and damaging those behaviors might be.

Mr Greenwald is not a lover of Donald Trump, but he realizes the danger that is occurring in the US now.

But cheering for the CIA and its shadowy allies to unilaterally subvert the U.S. election and impose its own policy dictates on the elected president is both warped and self-destructive. Empowering the very entities that have produced the most shameful atrocities and systemic deceit over the last six decades is desperation of the worst kind. Demanding that evidence-free, anonymous assertions be instantly venerated as Truth — despite emanating from the very precincts designed to propagandize and lie — is an assault on journalism, democracy, and basic human rationality. And casually branding domestic adversaries who refuse to go along as traitors and disloyal foreign operatives is morally bankrupt and certain to backfire on those doing it. All of these toxic ingredients were on full display yesterday as the Deep State unleashed its tawdriest and most aggressive assault yet on Trump: vesting credibility in and then causing the public disclosure of a completely unvetted and unverified document, compiled by a paid, anonymous operative while he was working for both GOP and Democratic opponents of Trump, accusing Trump of a wide range of crimes, corrupt acts, and salacious private conduct. The reaction to all of this illustrates that while the Trump presidency poses grave dangers, so, too, do those who are increasingly unhinged in their flailing, slapdash, and destructive attempts to undermine it.

The gloves are indeed off, ladies and gentlemen. It's a bare-knuckled battle from here on out. 

Because, after all, what do we have here? We have baseless allegations gathered by well-paid mercenaries for political assassins -- on both sides of the aisle, make no mistake -- to use against Conservatives, Republicans and Donald Trump.

That is what really occurred between Buzzfeed and Donald Trump.

BZ