Rep. Devin Nunes is hitting the Robert Mueller report for relying on scores of news media stories that promoted the now-debunked Russia-Trump election conspiracy.
A Washington Times analysis published on May 5 showed that the special counsel’s report footnoted over 100 media articles. Some contained allegations of Russian collusion, such as communication intercepts, that never materialized.
Mr. Nunes of California, the top Republican on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, now calls the Mueller report a “dossier.” It is a reference to the Democratic Party-financed Christopher Steele dossier that level at least a dozen conspiracy charges that the Mueller report debunked or failed to find evidence.
Mr. Nunes voiced his criticism at a committee hearing this week.
“The Mueller dossier cites dozens of articles from the reporters and publications that were most responsible for perpetuating the Russia hoax,” Mr. Nunes said. “Thus Mueller produced a perfect feedback loop: intelligence leakers spin a false story to the media, the media publishes the story, Mueller cites the story, and the media and the Democrats then fake outrage at Mueller’s findings.”
Mr. Nunes added, “In sum, Mueller relied on a mass of reporting whose central narrative— that the Trump campaign colluded with Russians to hack the elections— is false. And the Democrats spread a hoax claiming Trump is a Russian agent, but it was later discovered that the only people who colluded with Russians were the Democrats, who paid for the Steele dossier, which relied on Russian sources.”
SEE ALSO: Robert Mueller report cites Trump-Russia election conspiracy stories in media
This was a reference to the fact that the Hillary Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee funded Mr. Steele, who identified his sources as Kremlin intelligence and government figures.
The May 5 Washington Times story said:
“Special counsel Robert Mueller relied on the media to feed his Russian election interference report, citing scores of stories mostly from news outlets that promoted the debunked Trump-Kremlin election conspiracy.
“Mr. Mueller’s staff of Democrat-aligned prosecutors favored The New York Times over other publications. The 448-page report cited The Times more than 60 times, mostly in footnotes for articles that weave through the report’s main narrative.”
Mr. Nunes criticizes the media in general for becoming the conduit for false conspiracy charges.
“I’d like to remind the Democrats that this committee was created to do important oversight of our intelligence agencies,” he said. “This work is even more crucial now that the media have abandoned their traditional watchdog role and instead have become the mouthpiece of a cabal of intelligence leakers. I understand the Democrats’ inability to move past their failed hoax and get back to normal business. Nevertheless, I suggest they give it a try.”
Committee Chairman Rep. Adam B. Schiff, California Democrat, has announced a sweeping probe into nearly every aspect of President Trump’s and his family’s lives.
He wants to continue investigating topics investigated by Mr. Mueller. He also plans to hunt for Russian money influencing Mr. Trump.
Michael Cohen, Mr. Trump’s former lawyers and now his accuser, testified to Congress that he knows of no Russian loans or investments coming into the Trump Organization during his 15-plus-years at Trump Tower.
The Mueller report said the FBI didn’t establish a Trump-Russian election conspiracy.
There was no Mueller information on Mr. Trump having any association with Russian government figures. Some Democrats have accused him of being a Russian agent.
Mr. Schiff hired as a chief investigator a former federal prosecutor who said as late as December that he believes every thing in the Steele dossier is true.
• Rowan Scarborough can be reached at rscarborough@washingtontimes.com.
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