XPost: alt.california.illegals, ca.politics, alt.politics.socialism   
   XPost: alt.fan.letterman   
   From: apes@splcenter.org   
      
   ANALYSIS/OPINION:   
      
   On the heels of a bombshell report that Susan Rice – former   
   President Barack Obama’s right hand woman – asked dozens of   
   times for intelligence agencies to unmask the names of Trump   
   associates, the mainstream media is predictably, providing her   
   cover.   
      
   Instead of investigating the report, which was first broken by   
   Bloomberg News on Monday, the press corps is calling it a   
   “distraction” from the real story of potential Trump   
   administration collusion with Russia.   
      
   Let’s be clear. There are two stories worth pursuing. One is the   
   FBI’s investigation into any collusion between the Trump   
   administration and Russia. So far, no evidence has been provided   
   that there was any. The second is why did Ms. Rice seek this   
   unmasking and was it done for political purposes – in other   
   words, did the Obama administration actively seek to spy on the   
   incoming Trump administration?   
      
   The second story doesn’t interest the mainstream media – which   
   instead of investigating, immediately aimed to discredit.   
      
   “If victim [Lt. Gen Michael] Flynn hadn’t been ‘unmasked’ –   
   would Trump have fired him? Would it be better to have ‘masked’   
   man Flynn running the NSC,” New York Times reporter Glenn Thrush   
   questioned on Twitter, defending the illegally leaked reports to   
   the media that led to Mr. Flynn’s resignation.   
      
   Apparently, the criminal act of unmasking Mr. Flynn and then   
   leaking his name to the press is of no concern to Mr. Thrush.   
   Neither are accusations Ms. Rice may have sought and been   
   granted that unmasking.   
      
   Katy Tur of NBC News was equally nonplussed at the news   
   implicating Ms. Rice in a potential spying scandal.   
      
   After hearing the news she retweeted a Tweet from Atlantic   
   editor David Frum (and Never Trumper): “Imagine the National   
   Security Adviser wanting to know who was clandestinely   
   collaborating with an espionage attack on the nation’s security.”   
      
   So, not only did she deflect from the news of the day, she and   
   Mr. Frum also managed to bring the Russia/collusion story back   
   into the equation.   
      
   CNN’s Don Lemon was more outright in his disgust of the Rice   
   revelations, saying he wouldn’t “aid and abet people” pushing   
   the Susan Rice “diversion.”   
      
   Mr. Lemon’s CNN colleague Jim Sciutto – who before joining CNN   
   as their chief national security correspondent was a political   
   appointee of Mr. Obama working on foreign policy – said he   
   reached out to a source close to Ms. Rice and there was nothing   
   to see here.   
      
   “The idea that Ambassador Rice improperly sought the identities   
   of Americans is false,” he reported, citing an unnamed person   
   close to Ms. Rice. “There is nothing unusual about making these   
   requests when serving as a Sr. national security official,   
   whether Dem or GOP.”   
      
   Interesting.   
      
   Ms. Rice categorically denied last month on PBS that she knew   
   anything about the unmasking of U.S. citizens, but now, she’s   
   saying she did – she just did nothing wrong. As for Mr.   
   Sciutto’s source? Well, it takes a few minutes searching Google   
   to realize Mr. Sciutto was once an ABC News colleague with Ms.   
   Rice’s husband, Ian Officer Cameron. Add that to his Obama   
   administration chops, and I think you may have a winner.   
      
   Heidi Przyblyla at USA Today was equally happy to throw water on   
   the potentially explosive story.   
      
   “Conservative media going nuts. Unmasking to small circle of   
   Intel experts routine to understand/interpret intel. And diff   
   from ‘leaking,’” she wrote on Twitter. Maybe so, but is it not   
   even worth looking into?   
      
   The Wall Street Journal confirmed Bloomberg News’ report on   
   Tuesday, adding: “Unmasking does occur, but it is typically done   
   by intelligence or law-enforcement officials engaged in anti-   
   terror or espionage investigations. Ms. Rice would have had no   
   obvious need to unmask Trump campaign officials other than   
   political curiosity. We’re told by a source who has seen the   
   unmasked documents that they included political information   
   about the Trump transition team’s meetings and policy   
   intentions.”   
      
   Last but not least, the New York Times was quick to come to the   
   defense of the Obama administration. The lead of their story was   
   that the Trump administration “sought to turn attention away   
   from the Russia investigation” by saying the “real story” was   
   what President Donald Trump called “a crooked scheme against us.”   
      
   Never mind the news reports collaborating Mr. Trump’s   
   allegations. The Times looked to discredit those reports saying   
   they came from “conservative news media outlets.”   
      
   Really? Since when is Bloomberg View conservative? When did the   
   Wall Street Journal – whose pages are filled with anti-Trump   
   columnists – become a full-fledged conservative news outlet?   
      
   The Times wanted to assure its readers that its unnamed sources   
   said these unmasking requests were “normal” and “justified.”   
   So, nothing to see here folks. The Obama administration may have   
   been actively spying on the Trump administration using third-   
   world police-state tactics, but it’s no big deal. You’re being   
   distracted from the larger Russia collusion story, which even   
   ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee Adam Schiff   
   had to admit this weekend there was no evidence of.   
      
   So while the media goes out and chases that mythical story, the   
   truth will slowly be revealed. And that truth will unmask the   
   press corps as the bias, conspiracy theorists they have become.   
   Completely unhinged.   
      
   http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/apr/4/susan-rice-media-   
   providing-cover-obama-administrat/   
            
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
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