New Twitter Files expose how Democrat politicians, including Blumenthal, Schiff, and Feinstein, knowingly spread the Russiagate lie. They knowingly lied about the tale of Russian bots and the #ReleaseTheMemo hashtag.
Matt Taibbi released a new batch of Twitter Files, once again proving that Russiagate was a complete fraud.
“At a crucial moment in a years-long furor, Democrats denounced a report about flaws in the Trump-Russia investigation, saying it was boosted by Russian “bots” and “trolls,” Taibbi writes.
Democratic lawmakers, including Richard Blumenthal, Dianne Feinstein, and Adam Schiff, insisted Russian bots had overtaken Twitter and were being used to boost Republican talking points. The Twitter platform executives warned them that it was not the case.
Twitter wrote a letter to Schiff and Feinstein in response. One line read, “Our initial inquiry, based on available data, has not identified any significant activity connected to Russia with respect to tweets posting original content to this hashtag.” They told them they thought they are “putting the cart before the horse.”
THEY KNEW IT WASN’T TRUE
Democrats knew it wasn’t true but used the lied to destroy the Republican-led House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence’s memo in 2018 that detailed FBI surveillance abuses against Trump insiders.
Taibbi wrote, “Twitter warned politicians and media they not only lacked evidence but had evidence the accounts weren’t Russian – and were roundly ignored.”
Reps. Schiff and Feinstein of California blew up the fraudulent idea of a Kremlin troll farm behind the #ReleaseTheMemo hashtag posted by fellow Californian Devin Nunes, who Chaired the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. The memo gave details of FBI abuses and the role of the debunked Steele dossier.
After the memo was released, Democrat lawmakers claimed falsely that the hashtag had “gained the immediate attention and assistance of social media accounts linked to Russian influence operations,” and accused Mr. Nunes of distorting classified information in the memo.
6.The Nunes assertions would virtually all be verified in a report by Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz in December 2019. pic.twitter.com/uLFHwbsiJe
— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) January 12, 2023
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, Connecticut Democrat, wrote a separate open letter denouncing the Nunes memo adding that he found it “reprehensible that Russian agents have so eagerly manipulated innocent Americans.”
The media followed up and called the memo a joke.
7.Nonetheless, national media in January and early February of 2018 denounced the Nunes report in oddly identical language, calling it a “joke”: pic.twitter.com/IkTXRGrfaH
— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) January 12, 2023
Democrat lawmakers and their media had one source to back up the Russian troll lies that they called for the release of the memo.
9b. Feinstein/Schiff said the Nunes memo “distorts” classified information, but note they didn’t call it incorrect. pic.twitter.com/3ZMVM6XH9p
— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) January 12, 2023
THE SOURCE WAS VAGUE AT BEST
The source, the Alliance for Securing Democracy’s (ASD) “Hamilton 68” [read about that here] dashboard created by former FBI counterintelligence official Clint Watts, was widely dismissed by Twitter executives.
“It was vague in how it reached its conclusions,” Taibbi said. The executives inside Twitter panned the source and said no one was checking with them.
11.Feinstein, Schiff, Blumenthal, and media members all pointed to the same source: the Hamilton 68 dashboard created by former FBI counterintelligence official Clint Watts, under the auspices of the Alliance for Securing Democracy (ASD). pic.twitter.com/sifFJhBTn6
— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) January 12, 2023
Roth found nothing to back up their vague, invented stories.
“I just reviewed the accounts that posted the first 50 tweets with #releasethememo and … none of them show any signs of affiliation to Russia,” Yoel Roth, Twitter’s head of trust and safety, wrote in an internal email.
One Twitter executive tried to negotiate.
“It might be worth nudging Blumenthal’s staffer that it could be in his boss’ best interest not to go out there because it could come back to make him look silly,” one Twitter worker wrote in an internal email.
Mr. Blumenthal published his letter despite the warnings and knowing it was untrue.
One staffer from Ms. Feinstein’s office contacted Twitter to determine “the process by which they decide an account is Russian,” referring to Hamilton 68’s process. That was after she published her dishonest letter.
When Twitter spoke to a Blumenthal staffer, they tried to “wave him off” because “we don’t believe these are bots.”
“Execs eventually grew frustrated over what they saw as a circular process – presented with claims of Russian activity, even when denied, led to more claims,” Taibbi writes.
IF YOU GIVE A MOUSE A COOKIE
“Eventually Twitter staff realize “Blumenthal isn’t looking for real and nuanced solutions” but “just wants to get credit for pushing us further.”
Taibbi added one comment from an executive: Ultimately senior executives talked about “feeding congressional trolls” and compared their situation to the children’s book, “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie.”
“In the story, if you give a mouse a cookie, he’ll want a glass of milk, which will lead to a wave of other exhausting requests, at the end of which he’ll want a glass of milk. And one more cookie.”
TAIBBI CONCLUDES
Taibbi concludes: Despite universal internal conviction that there were no Russians in the story, Twitter went on to follow a slavish pattern of not challenging Russia claims on the record. Outside counsel from DC-connected firms like Debevoise and Plimpton advised Twitter to use language like, “With respect to particular hashtags, we take seriously any activity that may represent an abuse of our platform.”
HE DIDN’T WIN, DID HE?
All this reminds me of Harry Reid’s story that he heard Mitt Romney had secret accounts in the Bahamas. Romney was running for President at the time. It proved to be a complete lie. Reid’s response when he was caught was, “He didn’t win, did he?” Nancy Pelosi said much the same thing several years ago when she told her tribe they must win at all costs. You will say and do anything when you believe the end justifies the means. The end for Democrats appears to be a one world authoritarian government.
If you think you can embarrass hypocrites, you’re wrong. They’re proud to have tricked you.
Ya THINK?
Thank you Captain Obvious.
There are those of us who knew it was a LIE.
If you were to only watch MSM, you would be one of the dumb f*cks believing the government has your best interests at heart.
If you were awake, you would have already done your research and discovered this FACT years ago.
Treason. All involved in in the lies to overthrow a duly elected President are guilty of Treason and should be executed or this crap will never end
Could you imagine if that would really happen? We would have to have a new election because Congress would be desematted. There would be heads rolling on both sides. But it would be something to see. I’d even pay to see it.
Yeah, but there’s no evidence that they coluded to defraud the American people. Even though that’s what they do. But how many people knew it was a lie and continued to believe everything they were being told just because they believed everything before and hated Trump so much because of that. Now they aren’t going to admit any of it, so they are going to continue to hate and slander him and anyone who discredits them. Tha’t just how they work.