Exclusive — Ric Grenell: AP, Political Operatives Attacked Bernie Moreno Because They Oppose ‘America First’

Ric Grenell, who was then-President Donald Trump’s acting director of national intelligence, told Breitbart News Saturday that political operatives are pushing the hit piece against Ohio Senate Republican candidate Bernie Moreno because they oppose “America First.”

Grenell spoke to Breitbart News Saturday host Matthew Boyle as the Associated Press (AP) ran a “tawdry” piece attacking Moreno, “despite debunking the allegations within its own story and withholding critical evidence further eroding the tale’s validity.”

Breitbart News’s Bradley Jaye reported:

The hit piece involves the existence of a 2008 profile on a casual sexual encounter website called Adult Friend Finder. That profile, made public through a data breach of the website, was created using a company email used on a Moreno-owned company’s website and literature. The AP story says a caption on the photo-less profile, which it notes was last accessed about six hours after it was created, says, “Looking for young guys to have fun with while traveling.”

The AP ran the hit piece questioning Moreno’s potential involvement despite a sworn statement from a former intern for Moreno’s company that the intern created the profile as a “juvenile prank” using an email address managed by staff, including interns. The AP also, by its own admission, lacked evidence linking Moreno to the account.

Grenell said Moreno must go after the Associated Press for its slanted piece.

“First of all, I think that Bernie Moreno must sue the Associated Press and even if that means making such a point where you put them into bankruptcy. I’m furious about what this reporter has done. He knew it was fake, the team, the Bernie Moreno team, presented all of the information. They knew it was fake,” Grenell said.

The former Trump administration official said the story is “fake news that absolutely helps Democrats.”

He added, “Bernie Moreno should sue the Associated Press for knowingly pushing fake news and interfering in an election.” Grenell added that the hit piece against Moreno happened “five days before the primary election on Tuesday.”

He emphasized that the AP launched the hit piece to prevent the Moreno team from having time to debunk the piece.

Grenell attacked Dolan for giving in to the “woke” mob and said that the operatives pushing the piece do not like Moreno’s America First positions, including his opposition to endless Ukraine aid.

Grenell said, “Matt Dolan, who bowed to the ‘woke’ mob to change the name of the Cleveland Indians, he couldn’t stand up to the woke mob in Cleveland and in Ohio enough, does not deserve to be in the Senate. He’s a phony, he’s weak, and all of the operatives that are pushing this story, all of the operatives that don’t like America First, all of the operatives that worked to push this story and who are working to push this story should be outed. We should know exactly who is pushing this story for partisan political gain, and they should be known as the pushers of fake information and fake news.”

Breitbart News Saturday airs on SiriusXM Patriot 125 from 10:00 A.M. to 1:00 P.M. Eastern.

Sean Moran is a policy reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter @SeanMoran3.