It's a rare day when a conservative radio talk show retracts a statement much less what he regarded as a "major story," but Alex Jones did just that. He has apologized for spreading the inflammatory "pizzagate" conspiracy theory that had actually drawn former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn into its web. We are still waiting on Jones to drop his long standing view that Sandy Hook was a "false flag."
These faux news outlets are coming under increased scrutiny now that we have a President who draws heavily from them. Trump's wiretapping claim was pulled from Breitbart, and Spicey spread a story aired by Judge Nap that Obama outsourced surveillance on Trump Tower to the UK Government Communications Headquarters. Fox News later took action against Judge Nap for spreading a false story.
The basis for much of this fake news emanates from Russian and Eastern European sources. Some of it is child's play like these Macedonian kids who were taking advantage of the gullibility of Trump supporters to score hits on social media, hoping to draw advertising dollars. But, the UK outsourcing story emanated from RT, or Russia Today, an English propaganda news site sponsored by the Kremlin. Once these stories get picked up it is pretty hard to shake them, as they are shared widely through social media and picked up by news commentators to provide credence for their opinions.
What makes the wiretapping story particularly noxious is that it was given credence by the White House. While some Republicans are questioning Trump's grasp of reality, no Republican has yet to accuse him of lying. I suppose if the story first came from Mark Levin, Trump isn't lying but rather spreading an erroneous story, which Spicey augmented by referencing Judge Nap's additional accusations.
Rather than disown the story, Trump stated he was "somewhat vindicated" by the report Congressmen Devin Nunes gave him that some members of his campaign team were the subject of "incidental surveillance" after the election. Trump had specifically accused Obama of tapping Trump Tower before the election.
I seriously doubt we will ever get an apology from Trump. Chris Wallace pressed Reince Priebus on the matter, and Trump's chief of staff adamantly stated that they don't accept the findings of the FBI chief on the wiretapping. In their minds, Mark Levin's unfounded story stands.
This makes Alex Jones a better person than Donald Trump as he was finally able to let one of his conspiracy theories go. That had to be a bitter pill to swallow for a man who has only two entries in the correction section of his website.
A few years back, Trump said attacking Syria was illegal:
ReplyDeletehttps://pbs.twimg.com/media/C8xh5xyW0AAMARB.jpg
He joined with several Republicans in demanding that the USA stay out of that region:
Rep. Scott Rigell (R-Va.) 2013 letter signed by more than 100 lawmakers.
Dear Mr. President,
We strongly urge you to consult and receive authorization from Congress before ordering the use of U.S. military force in Syria. Your responsibility to do so is prescribed in the Constitution and the War Powers Resolution of 1973.
While the Founders wisely gave the Office of the President the authority to act in emergencies, they foresaw the need to ensure public debate – and the active engagement of Congress – prior to committing U.S. military assets. Engaging our military in Syria when no direct threat to the United States exists and without prior congressional authorization would violate the separation of powers that is clearly delineated in the Constitution.
Mr. President, in the case of military operations in Libya you stated that authorization from Congress was not required because our military was not engaged in “hostilities.” In addition, an April 1, 2011, memorandum to you from your Office of Legal Counsel concluded:
“…President Obama could rely on his constitutional power to safeguard the national interest by directing the anticipated military operations in Libya—which were limited in their nature, scope, and duration—without prior congressional authorization.”
We view the precedent this opinion sets, where “national interest” is enough to engage in hostilities without congressional authorization, as unconstitutional. If the use of 221 Tomahawk cruise missiles, 704 Joint Direct Attack Munitions, and 42 Predator Hellfire missiles expended in Libya does not constitute “hostilities,” what does?
If you deem that military action in Syria is necessary, Congress can reconvene at your request. We stand ready to come back into session, consider the facts before us, and share the burden of decisions made regarding U.S. involvement in the quickly escalating Syrian conflict.
Sincerely,
Now, all of a sudden, he has a convenient change of heart and launches a bombing attack. Obviously a FALSE FLAG designed to promote a profitable war that will bring up his sagging popularity ratings.
It should also be noted that several conservatives agree that this is a false flag matter - Ron Paul, Alex Jones, and Michael Savage ~ all Republicans and as far to the right as can be.
ReplyDeleteConservative blogger/video streamer voices his major disappointment with the Trump regime:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3mXq9Xra64&t=2s
There are many videos of people from the far right, along with videos from the more patriotic progressive community, which also display much displeasure with Trump imperialism in the Middle East.