Analysis: White House is trying to dupe media with phony leaks
Callum Borchers, The Washington Post
Published 8:52 am, Monday, May 22, 2017
Photo: Susan Walsh, Associated Press
President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference in the East Room of the White House.
President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference in the East Room of the White House.
Photo: Susan Walsh, Associated Press
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Probes into Russia, Trump campaign
An FBI investigation and congressional probes into the Trump campaign and contacts with Russia continue to shadow the administration, each new development a focus of White House press briefings and attention on Capitol Hill.
President Donald Trump has dismissed the story as "fake news" and raised allegations of politically inspired spying by the Obama administration, but the investigations show no sign of abating anytime soon.
Here's a look at some key details
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An FBI investigation and congressional probes into the Trump campaign and contacts with Russia continue to shadow the administration, each new development a focus of White House press briefings and attention on
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Photo: Getty Images
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Probes into Russia, Trump campaign
FBI Director
James Comey told Congress in March that an investigation examining Russian interference in the presidential election, and potential coordination between Russia and the Trump campaign, began in late July.
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FBI Director
James Comey told Congress in March that an investigation examining Russian interference in the presidential election, and potential coordination between Russia and the Trump campaign, began in late
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Photo: MANDEL NGAN
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Probes into Russia, Trump campaign
The probe followed revelations that Russian hackers broke into the computer network of the Democratic National Committee, a hack U.S. officials and cybersecurity experts have publicly tied to Russian intelligence services.
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The probe followed revelations that Russian hackers broke into the computer network of the Democratic National Committee, a hack U.S. officials and cybersecurity experts have publicly tied to Russian
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Photo: Andrew Harnik, STF
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Probes into Russia, Trump campaign
Stolen emails to and from top Democratic Party officials, including then-DNC chairwoman
Debbie Wasserman Schultz, were released to the public last summer on the secret-sharing website WikiLeaks, followed in the fall by the hacked messages of
John Podesta (previous photo), the campaign chairman of Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.
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Stolen emails to and from top Democratic Party officials, including then-DNC chairwoman
Debbie Wasserman Schultz, were released to the public last summer on the secret-sharing website WikiLeaks, followed in the
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Photo: Lynne Sladky, STF
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Probes into Russia, Trump campaign
The FBI is conducting a counterintelligence investigation exploring how Russia, in the last year, covertly sought to influence the American presidential election on Trump's behalf.
The FBI is conducting a counterintelligence investigation exploring how Russia, in the last year, covertly sought to influence the American presidential election on Trump's behalf.
Photo: Alexei Nikolsky, POOL
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Probes into Russia, Trump campaign
Investigations like this one that examine the operations of foreign intelligence services on U.S. soil are heavily classified, historically time-consuming and rarely result in criminal charges. It's not clear when this one will end or whether anything criminal will be found, though Comey has said the investigation is being done with an eye on whether any laws were broken.
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Investigations like this one that examine the operations of foreign intelligence services on U.S. soil are heavily classified, historically time-consuming and rarely result in criminal charges. It's not clear
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Photo: Daniel Estrin
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Probes into Russia, Trump campaign
The House and Senate intelligence committees are conducting their own, simultaneous investigations. Republicans in Congress are concerned that classified material was improperly leaked to the news media and that communications of Trump associates had been improperly disseminated throughout government agencies.
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The House and Senate intelligence committees are conducting their own, simultaneous investigations. Republicans in Congress are concerned that classified material was improperly leaked to the news media and
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Photo: J. Scott Applewhite, Associated Press
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Probes into Russia, Trump campaign
The House probe has been riven by discord, with the top Democrat seeking the recusal of the Republican chairman,
Devin Nunes of California, after Nunes said he had met with a secret source at the White House to review classified material that he said indicated that communications of Trump associates were captured in "incidental" surveillance of foreigners.
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The House probe has been riven by discord, with the top Democrat seeking the recusal of the Republican chairman,
Devin Nunes of California, after Nunes said he had met with a secret source at the White House to
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Photo: The Washington Post/The Washington Post/Getty Images
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Probes into Russia, Trump campaign
Trump's former national security adviser,
Michael Flynn, was interviewed by the FBI in the early days of the Trump administration about communications he had with the Russian ambassador, Sergey Kislyak, during the transition period. The White House fired him in February after concluding that he had not been truthful about those conversations.
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Trump's former national security adviser,
Michael Flynn, was interviewed by the FBI in the early days of the Trump administration about communications he had with the Russian ambassador, Sergey Kislyak, during
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Photo: Carolyn Kaster, Associated Press
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Probes into Russia, Trump campaign
Republican strategist
Roger Stone has said he communicated with Guccifer 2.0, the unnamed hacker that has taken credit for breaking into the DNC servers. But Stone has denied that he worked with Russian officials to influence the presidential election
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Republican strategist
Roger Stone has said he communicated with Guccifer 2.0, the unnamed hacker that has taken credit for breaking into the DNC servers. But Stone has denied that he worked with Russian
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Photo: Seth Wenig / Associated Press
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Probes into Russia, Trump campaign
Carter Page, a foreign policy adviser to the Trump campaign, met with a Russian intelligence operative in 2013 and provided him documents about the energy industry, according to court documents from a 2015 prosecution alleging a Cold War-style spy ring in New York.
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Carter Page, a foreign policy adviser to the Trump campaign, met with a Russian intelligence operative in 2013 and provided him documents about the energy industry, according to court documents from a 2015
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Photo: Pavel Golovkin, Associated Press
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Probes into Russia, Trump campaign
Meanwhile, Justice Department officials have scrutinized the business dealings of Paul Manafort, who was fired in August as Trump's campaign chairman.
Meanwhile, Justice Department officials have scrutinized the business dealings of Paul Manafort, who was fired in August as Trump's campaign chairman.
Photo: Chip Somodevilla /Getty Images
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Probes into Russia, Trump campaign
The Associated Press has reported that Manafort previously worked for Russian billionaire
Oleg Deripaska and in 2005 proposed an ambitious plan to promote the interests of "the Putin government" through influencing politics, business dealings and news coverage inside the United States, Europe and former Soviet republics.
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The Associated Press has reported that Manafort previously worked for Russian billionaire
Oleg Deripaska and in 2005 proposed an ambitious plan to promote the interests of "the Putin government" through
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Photo: Mikhail Klimentyev, POOL
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Probes into Russia, Trump campaign
Trump has sought to dismiss the story as "fake" and has countered with his own allegations of politically motivated spying by the Obama administration. The White House has also tried to publicly minimize the contributions either to the campaign or administration of some of the individuals whose names have surfaced as part of the investigation, such as Manafort and Flynn.
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Trump has sought to dismiss the story as "fake" and has countered with his own allegations of politically motivated spying by the Obama administration. The White House has also tried to publicly minimize the
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Photo: Andrew Harrer, Bloomberg
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Probes into Russia, Trump campaign
President Donald Trump took to Twitter last month to accuse President Barack Obama of having wiretapped him at Trump Tower, his New York skyscraper, during the campaign. Law enforcement, congressional and intelligence officials have called that allegation untrue.
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President Donald Trump took to Twitter last month to accuse President Barack Obama of having wiretapped him at Trump Tower, his New York skyscraper, during the campaign. Law enforcement, congressional and
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Photo: President Donald Trump Via Twitter
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Probes into Russia, Trump campaign
The latest flare-up came this week amid revelations that
Susan Rice (shown here on a call following the Brussels terror attacks), Obama's national security adviser, had asked spy agencies to give her the names of Trump associates who surfaced in intelligence reports she was regularly briefed on.
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The latest flare-up came this week amid revelations that
Susan Rice (shown here on a call following the Brussels terror attacks), Obama's national security adviser, had asked spy agencies to give her the names
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Photo: Pete Souza/The White House
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Probes into Russia, Trump campaign
In an interview with MSNBC, Rice acknowledged that she had sometimes asked for the names of Americans who were referenced in reports, but denied that she or anyone else in the administration had used those reports for political intelligence purposes. Trump said the following day that he believed Rice had committed a crime.
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In an interview with MSNBC, Rice acknowledged that she had sometimes asked for the names of Americans who were referenced in reports, but denied that she or anyone else in the administration had used those
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Photo: Carolyn Kaster, STF
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Probes into Russia, Trump campaign
Former acting U.S. Attorney General
Sally Yates testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism in the Hart Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill May 8, 2017 in Washington, DC. Before being was fired by U.S. President Donald Trump, Yates had warned the White House about contacts between former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn and Russia that might make him vulnerable to blackmail.
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Former acting U.S. Attorney General
Sally Yates testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism in the Hart Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill May 8, 2017 in
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Photo: Eric Thayer, Getty Images
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Probes into Russia, Trump campaign
In May, President Trump fired FBI Director
James Comey, citing his role in the Hillary Clinton email investigation, and curiously inserting an unverifiable claim that Comey told the president that he was not being investigated in the Russia probe.
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In May, President Trump fired FBI Director
James Comey, citing his role in the Hillary Clinton email investigation, and curiously inserting an unverifiable claim that Comey told the president that he was not
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Photo: MANDEL NGAN, Staff
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Probes into Russia, Trump campaign
The following day, Trump met Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, left, and Russian Ambassador to the US, Sergei Kislyak at the White House.
The following day, Trump met Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, left, and Russian Ambassador to the US, Sergei Kislyak at the White House.
Photo: HO, AFP/Getty Images
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Probes into Russia, Trump campaign
On May 11, 2017, Trump, in an NBC interview, says he had been intending to fire Comey — whom he derided as a "showboat" and "grandstander" — for months. He denies it had anything to do with the Russia investigation, but also says: "In fact when I decided to just do it, I said to myself, I said you know, this Russia thing with Trump and Russia is a made-up story."
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On May 11, 2017, Trump, in an NBC interview, says he had been intending to fire Comey — whom he derided as a "showboat" and "grandstander" — for months. He denies it had anything to do with the Russia
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Photo: Pablo Martinez Monsivais, STF
May 17, 2017: The Justice Department said is appointing former FBI Director Robert Mueller as special counsel to oversee investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.
May 17, 2017: The Justice Department said is appointing former FBI Director Robert Mueller as special counsel to oversee investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.
Photo: J. Scott Applewhite, Associated Press
Analysis: White House is trying to dupe media with phony leaks
Conservative talk show host Bill Mitchell has hatched an ingenious plot to destroy the credibility of major newspapers.
"You know what we should do? Start flooding the NYTimes and WAPO tip lines with all kinds of crazy "leaks." Then laugh when they print them!" he posted on Twitter.
Simple, right? Mitchell's theory is that the media is so hungry for unflattering information about President Donald Trump that it will gobble up anything that feeds its narrative. When "crazy leaks" make print, Mitchell and his fellow Trump boosters can expose the falsehoods and prove once and for all that the "fake news media," as the president calls it, is composed of a bunch of hacks.
It's brilliant! But New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman says the plan won't work: "The Trump administration has tried this a few times, sir. We actually vet these things."
Let's get serious for a moment: Mitchell's scheme is rather facile, but that does not mean phony leaks are not a real threat. According to Haberman, members of the Trump administration already have tried to dupe The New York Times on several occasions - presumably with tips that seem plausible and are not easily dismissed as "crazy."
Before his first address to a joint session of Congress, in February, Trump said at a luncheon with TV journalists that he might talk about a compromise that would include offering legal status to some undocumented immigrants. When he took the stage, however, Trump said no such thing.
CNN later quoted a senior White House official who admitted that Trump's initial remark to journalists was a "misdirection play" designed to promote favorable coverage. It seems clear that feeding false information to reporters is part of the White House playbook.
Kyle Pope, editor in chief and publisher of the Columbia Journalism Review, said last week that he believes journalists need to be on high alert for attempts to fool them into reporting incorrect info that could damage their reputations. Asked whether he worries about errors made in haste, as news outlets compete for scoops, Pope said "the bigger risk right now is of somebody getting duped - intentional misdirection or fabricated leaks. In this climate, that is more what I would be worried about."
If the Trump White House manages to slip false information into a news report, it won't be something that is obviously outlandish; it will be something that seems completely reasonable.