Ever since President Trump used his Twitter account to tell the world the truth about the Obama administration’s amoral, un-American and quite possibly illegal spying on him and his team, our ever-corrupt media has used the laughable shield of hyper-literalism to protect their precious Barry.
Basically, the surreal debate has gone like this:
MEDIA: Trump lied about Obama wiretapping Trump Tower.
REALITY: How do you know that?
MEDIA: Well, for starters, Obama can’t leave the White House without us knowing.
REALITY: I don’t think Trump literally meant that Barry pulled a Tom Cruise and used wire-fu to place literal wiretaps.
MEDIA: Trump’s own Justice Department Justice just said there were no wiretaps.
REALITY: Again, I don’t think Trump meant literal wiretaps. He obviously meant surveillance.
MEDIA: He said “wiretaps.” He’s a liar.
REALITY: Are you aware that the modern definition of “wiretaps” no longer means “the traditional term for interception of telephone conversations,” but rather surveillance of cell phones and almost all electronic means of conversation?
MEDIA: Trump said wiretap! He said WIRETAP!!! HE SAID WIRETAP!!!!!!!!!!
REALITY: Are you also aware that the New York Times used the exact word “wiretap” in a headline to describe the Obama administration’s surveillance of Team Trump?
MEDIA: Shut up, Nazi.
Over the weekend, the media’s avoidance of this inconvenient truth was resurrected when the Justice Department released a report stating that there is no evidence of any literal wiretaps placed by the Obama administration in Trump Tower.
So, this seems like the perfect time to remind everyone of the 12 times the very same media that is now lying about this, did in fact tell us that the Obama administration did in fact (using the modern definition) wiretap Team Trump.
In chronological order [emphasis mine throughout]…
1. The (now defunct) Heat Street – November 7, 2016
EXCLUSIVE: FBI ‘Granted FISA Warrant’ Covering Trump Camp’s Ties To Russia
Two separate sources with links to the counter-intelligence community have confirmed to Heat Street that the FBI sought, and was granted, a FISA court warrant in October, giving counter-intelligence permission to examine the activities of ‘U.S. persons’ in Donald Trump’s campaign with ties to Russia.
If you are wondering who Heat Street is and why you should care, just know that the New York Times re-published this information in March — you know, the information that the Obama administration spied on Team Trump.
2. The Guardian – January 11, 2017
The Guardian has learned that the FBI applied for a warrant from the foreign intelligence surveillance (Fisa) court over the summer in order to monitor four members of the Trump team suspected of irregular contacts with Russian officials. The Fisa court turned down the application asking FBI counter-intelligence investigators to narrow its focus. According to one report, the FBI was finally granted a warrant in October, but that has not been confirmed, and it is not clear whether any warrant led to a full investigation.
3. The New York Times – January 12, 2017
In its final days, the Obama administration has expanded the power of the National Security Agency to share globally intercepted personal communications with the government’s 16 other intelligence agencies before applying privacy protections.
The new rules significantly relax longstanding limits on what the N.S.A. may do with the information gathered by its most powerful surveillance operations, which are largely unregulated by American wiretapping laws. These include collecting satellite transmissions, phone calls and emails that cross network switches abroad, and messages between people abroad that cross domestic network switches.
Note the timing of “in the final days of the Obama administration.”
As I wrote at the Daily Wire back in March (where I first published this list): “This is the most important piece of the puzzle, because it explains how the media was getting all of its scoops via leaks via surveillance.”
Lawyers from the National Security Division in the [Obama] Department of Justice then drew up an application. They took it to the secret US court that deals with intelligence, the Fisa court, named after the Foreign intelligence Surveillance Act. They wanted permission to intercept the electronic records from two Russian banks.
Their first application, in June, was rejected outright by the judge. They returned with a more narrowly drawn order in July and were rejected again. Finally, before a new judge, the order was granted, on 15 October, three weeks before election day.
Neither Mr Trump nor his associates are named in the Fisa order, which would only cover foreign citizens or foreign entities – in this case the Russian banks. But ultimately, the investigation is looking for transfers of money from Russia to the United States, each one, if proved, a felony offence.
A lawyer – outside the Department of Justice but familiar with the case – told me that three of Mr. Trump’s associates were the subject of the inquiry. “But it’s clear this is about Trump,” he said.
5. McClatchy – January 18, 2017
The agencies involved in the inquiry are the FBI, the CIA, the National Security Agency, the [Obama] Justice Department, the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network and representatives of the director of national intelligence, the sources said. …
A key mission of the six-agency group has been to examine who financed the email hacks of the Democratic National Committee and Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta. The London-based transparency group WikiLeaks released the emails last summer and in October.
The working group is scrutinizing the activities of a few Americans who were affiliated with Trump’s campaign or his business empire and of multiple individuals from Russia and other former Soviet nations.
The BBC reported that the FBI had obtained a warrant on Oct. 15 from the highly secretive Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court allowing investigators access to bank records and other documents about potential payments and money transfers related to Russia. One of McClatchy’s sources confirmed the report.
6. The New York Times – Jan 19, 2017
Print headline: “Wiretapped Data Used In Inquiry of Trump Aides” …
The F.B.I. is leading the investigations, aided by the National Security Agency, the C.I.A. and the Treasury Department’s financial crimes unit. The investigators have accelerated their efforts in recent weeks but have found no conclusive evidence of wrongdoing, the officials said. One official said intelligence reports based on some of the wiretapped communications had been provided to the White House.
Yes, that’s right, the Times used WIRETAP in its headline and in its story.
7. The Washington Post – February 9, 2017
National security adviser Michael Flynn privately discussed U.S. sanctions against Russia with that country’s ambassador to the United States during the month before President Trump took office, contrary to public assertions by Trump officials, current and former U.S. officials said.
Flynn’s communications with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak were interpreted by some senior U.S. officials as an inappropriate and potentially illegal signal to the Kremlin that it could expect a reprieve from sanctions that were being imposed by the Obama administration in late December to punish Russia for its alleged interference in the 2016 election.
Flynn’s communications with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak were interpreted [.]
The New York Times quickly matched the story and said there was a transcript of the discussions.
This is CNN celebrating Flynn being taken down by a transcript of a phone call that the New York Times reported on in a story that used the word “wiretap” under a headline that declared it a “wiretap.”
9. NBC News – February 10, 2017
A U.S. intelligence official briefed on the matter confirmed to NBC News that National Security Advisor Mike Flynn discussed sanctions with the Russian ambassador before Flynn took office[.]
The official said he was told there was no quid pro quo and that there has been no finding inside the government that Flynn did anything illegal. …
Flynn spoke to Kislyak on Dec. 29, the same day the sanctions were announced.
Oh, yes, NBC News was well aware of the fact that the Obama administration was listening in on Flynn’s calls. And as you will read below, so was the AP, ABC and CBS.
10. The Associated Press – February 13, 2017
Two people familiar with the situation say the Justice Department warned the Trump administration about Michael Flynn’s contacts with Russia.
One of the people says the Justice Department told the administration there was a discrepancy between what the White House was saying publicly about Flynn’s contacts and the facts of what occurred.
11. ABC News – February 13, 2017
Embattled National Security Adviser Michael Flynn called Vice President Mike Pence Friday to apologize for misleading him about a conversation with the Russian ambassador to the United States, according to a senior White House official.
12. CBS News – February 10, 2017
Investigators believe that President Trump’s national security adviser, Michael Flynn, privately discussed U.S. sanctions against Russia in a phone call with a Russian official, law enforcement sources told CBS News on Friday.
Multiple sources told CBS News’ Jeff Pegues and Pat Milton that the conversation occurred before Mr. Trump took office and, if true, could be a violation of protocol and could be viewed as a violation of the law.
Before Trump blew up the truth about Barry’s spying and turned it into a liability, as you can see above, everyone in the media was not only openly admitting that the Obama administration spied on Team Trump, they were bragging about how awesome it was.
In a nutshell, here is what happened…
1) Believing Hillary would win, the Obama administration brazenly spied on Team Trump. You see, if Hillary won, they would never get caught. The goal was to personally (and falsely) destroy Trump as a Russian spy after he lost. Why? To destroy his powerful coalition. Duh.
2) The media knew the Obama administration had “wiretapped” Trump because they were the ones benefiting from selective leaks that could only come from monitored phone calls.
3) When Trump unexpectedly won the election, the media and the Obama administration simply launched the phony Russian narrative anyway.
4) Without thinking it through, the media openly reported on how their super-awesome Barry had busted Trump as a Manchurian candidate, cuz super-awesome Barry did some super-awesome spying cuz he’s super-awesome. But, this blew up in everyone’s face when…
5) Trump accurately accused Obama of (the modern definition of) wiretapping, and blew the lid wide open on Barry’s horrific and un-American behavior.
6) So now, the media lies about and covers up Barry’s spying by hiding behind the hyper-literal and outdated definition of “wiretap,” even though on 12 different occasions the MSM proudly reported on Barry’s wiretapping — even though the New York Times actually (and accurately) called it wiretapping.
Good thing the Internet … and the truth … are forever.
Follow John Nolte on Twitter @NolteNC. Follow his Facebook Page here.
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