John Solomon on FBI Media Spin and Pulitzer-Winning Russiagate Reporting

FBI Media Manipulation and Russiagate Reporting

• 🎯 Michael Schmidt of the New York Times, a recipient of Pulitzer Prizes for his Russiagate reporting, is highlighted for his role in disseminating information from the FBI.
• 💡 The discussion questions the integrity of reporting that concluded there was no wrongdoing in the Russiagate investigations, especially when key figures like Schmidt are brought on to downplay the story.
• 🔍 John Solomon contrasts his own reporting experience with that of Michael Schmidt, emphasizing that the FBI initially told him there was "no there there" regarding collusion.
• 📄 Solomon points out that the New York Times published a story in February 2017 claiming US intelligence had proof of Trump campaign-Russia communication, a story that has never been retracted despite James Comey later stating it wasn't true.

Media Accountability and Retractions

• 📰 Solomon criticizes the New York Times and Washington Post for not retracting stories that have since been proven false, contrasting this with historical journalistic standards where errors were corrected.
• ⚠️ He references Jeff Girth's re-evaluation in the Columbia Journalism Review, which detailed reporting failures by the New York Times and Washington Post regarding Russia.
• 🧐 The NSA Director Mike Rogers reportedly stated in an FBI interview that a Pulitzer-winning Washington Post story, claiming Trump made an incriminating statement to him, was "wrong."
• 🗣️ Solomon argues that while receiving classified leaks doesn't make a reporter bad, failing to correct inaccurate reporting does.

DNC Hack and Exfiltration Nuances

• 📧 While John Podesta's emails are widely believed to have been hacked by Russians, the DNC hack is presented as more complex.
• 🚫 The FBI, under James Comey, did not demand DNC servers but used a vendor, CrowdStrike, for analysis.
• ❓ CrowdStrike's analysis indicated Russians gained access and performed probing, but could never prove exfiltration of data, meaning they couldn't confirm emails were pulled off the servers.
• 📊 This distinction between hacking into systems and successfully exfiltrating data is crucial for understanding the reporting on the DNC hack.