Fox News is well known as a brazenly partisan and dishonest purveyor of propaganda that exists only to serve the political interests of the Republican Party and that panders to Donald Trump and his cult disciples. It was never intended to be a legitimate “news” enterprise, and in that respect it has lived up to its mission.
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Among the skills that Fox News has honed over the years is one that facilitates turning bad news into some ludicrous reimagining of reality that better fits their preordained narratives. And on Wednesday there was a textbook example of their mastery of that method of mangling the news during an episode of Jesse Watters’ program. Watters invited Trump’s former Attorney Genuflect, Bill Barr, on for a segment of misinformation regarding the acquittal of Michael Sussmann, a Hillary Clinton campaign lawyer who was hounded by Barr’s special counsel, John Durham.
Durham’s mandate was to invent legal distractions in an effort to vindicate Trump by fabricating phony charges of misconduct related to his unsavory connections to Russia. Durham never had a shred of evidence to justify his probe, which the jury recognized and quickly found Sussmann not guilty.
RELATED: Crybaby Trump FREAKS OUT Over the Durham Nothingburger Resulting in Acquittal of Clinton Lawyer
The typically softball interview of Barr allowed him paint a preposterous picture of the outcome of the trial. In the retelling of the story by Watters and Barr, Durham was actually victorious:
Watters: Do you feel in any way responsible for how this Durham situation is unfolding, and are you disappointed in John Durham?
Barr: No, I’m very proud of John Durham and I do take responsibility for his appointment. And I think he and his team did an exceptionally able job both seeking out very important facts and presenting a compelling case to the jury. And while he did not succeed in getting a conviction from the D.C. jury, I think he accomplished something far more important. Which is he brought out the truth in two important areas.First, I think he crystalized the central role played by the Hillary campaign in launching as a dirty trick the whole Russia-gate collusion narrative, and fanning the flames of it. And second, I think he exposed really dreadful behavior by supervisors in the senior ranks of the FBI who knowingly used this information to start an investigation of Trump, and then duped their own agents by lying to them, and refusing to tell them what the real source of that information was.
Barr: I’m very proud of Durham and I do take responsibility for his appointment. pic.twitter.com/odKy2FaqKG
— Acyn (@Acyn) June 1, 2022
It’s nice that Barr takes responsibility for the debacle that he so terribly mismanaged. However, his assessment of the results is purely delusional. If losing the most important case that the special counsel has brought to trial is representative of “an exceptionally able job,” you really have to wonder what Barr’s notion of failure is.
What Barr is arguing is that it isn’t important that his prosecutor’s case was entirely dismissed by the jury. What’s important in Barr’s view is that, in the process, a bunch of lies were propagated that he believes will have a negative effect on Clinton specifically, and Democrats generally. He’s outright admitting that the entire Durham probe was just a scam to harm his political foes.
However, what Barr identified as accomplishments that are greater than conviction were figments of his imagination. Durham utterly failed to “crystalize” Clinton’s role in launching dirty tricks. At best he revealed something that everyone already knows: that political campaigns – all of them – engage in opposition research. And there is no way that Clinton’s reputation was hurt by this show trial, because the right-wingers who paid any attention to it already regard Clinton as Satan in a pant suit.
Finally, Durham failed in his prime directive to deflect from Trump’s myriad criminal activities. If anything, he reminded people that Trump is still the subject of numerous investigations that are likely to lead to indictments. And he triggered an outraged Trump, who felt compelled to vent on his failing social media website, TRUTH Social.
RELATED: Trump Baselessly Accuses Hillary Clinton of a Capital Crime and Wishes He Could Put Her to Death
In the end, the only thing that Barr and Fox News accomplished was to affirm that their motives are entirely partisan and have nothing to do with the law. It’s a deception that may tittilate Fox News viewers, but will have zero impact on the population at large. Just as Barr’s and Durham’s fictions had zero impact on the Sussmann jury.
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That low down bastard Donald TUMP has the audacity to make the statement, ” baselessly accusing Hilary Clinton of a Capitol crime and wishes he could put her to death?” Does this blathering idiot think he is completely innocent of any crimes? The son of a bitch himself has committed crimes all of his evil, sorry, corrupt life. I would bet there are many people that wish the same to happen to his retched, evil, corrupt ass. i just think how much better off things would be here in USA if that sorry excuse for a human being had never existed in the first place. It boggles my mind that so many idiots idolize this evil monster. I just don’t get it.
A Malignant Narcissist like Trump-a-chump doesn’t see anything he does as *wrong”. In fact, so convinced that they’re always 100% perfect, that just by virtue of them doing it, it is “perfect” & so, can’t be ‘criminal’. “Obviously, it’s the stupid law that is wrong.” (They think.) Scary thing is, he actually believes that shit, which makes him a “less-than-stable leader”. His pal & puppet-master, Putin, sees things same way ~ no wonder they have a ‘connection’! 2 mentally deranged peas in the same ugly pod!
What I don’t understand is how these people get away with the crap they do!?! Our prisons are where such people usually end up doin’ time ~ not in WH or Kremlin. ‘Mentally unstable’ is dangerous person, especially when think they are so perfect & powerful
The Rethug voters should NOT VOTE, en masse. Refuse to vote for the Party that’s preparing for 2 more yrs of them preventing anything good for us from passing Congress! They’re so sure they have this election set-up for them to take over & say they intend revenge, for Vommittee having evidence & trying to hold Rethuglicans accountable for Jan 6th, + other attempts at election fraud, to try & keep Trump in Office, despite fact he lost to Biden! Regthug Party intend to investigate anything & everything Dems & Biden may have done…or not. Plan to start soon as sworn in as Majority Party; say they will make ’em all high-profile accusations & investigations, using tactics never allowed before. (Proof is always optional!) Complete & total chaos in DC, for next 2yrs! FauxLies will help them spread the lies, until no one will know what’s true anymore. If (R)s take back majorities in Congress, they intend to play ‘political revenge’ with constant ‘BS theatre’ & keep fighting against Dems & working-class Americans, not letting anything good for us regular Americans get done. “Be the big obstacle”… & they are that!
I don’t think we can take 2 more yrs of Congress fighting our needs, doing nothing to help us! Can you?? Gridlock & sniping lies, is NOT a good agenda & that is NOT what the job is! We want to see adults discuss real issues we face & AGREE ON plan of action. Maybe can find Compromise!?
I don’t think the Party who tried multiple ways to overturn fair U.S.election + cover it up …& now, is preventing millions from getting to vote & it be counted — does that Party on total power trip, even belong inside our gov’t?!?
Can’t trust them anymore! And how are the 2 Parties going to work together now, for the good of us all & nation?!! Sounds like that is not Rethugs’ agenda at all.. just complete chaos & abusing power, for revenge against perceived enemies, for 2 more yrs.
If we want things to get done for our greater good, Dems must get out there & vote in record #s!! (Now & Nov!) “VOTE EARLY & VOTE BLUE!”
As for the (R) Party voters who are also tired of all this crap & want to see work getting done in Congress that helps us all… to get American agenda going & to move on the corporations price-gouging us while they have huge, record-breaking profits. A Windfall Tax on those who made record profit$$$;, at same time, all (R)s voted AGAINST all the stimulus checks; against Child Tax Credits; against free vaccines; against raising the fed. minimum wage to enuff to live on @ 40 hrs/wk: They have voted “no” to every single thing Dems offer, to try & help people who were hurtin’!
IF we want Congress to be able to pass bills we need done & to really get some work DONE, whst wr need is BIGGER majority in Congress. Right now, we’d need 10 extra, cuz’ of 1 word filibuster weapon that gets used to stop all that’s good. Can’t do anything with very slim margin & other Party calls “filibuster”. Don’t DO a filibuster, just calls the word.
IF (R) voters can’t let themselves ‘Vote Blue’ 1x’, they can sit this 1 out, not vote. Or, they can leave blank the parts of ballot where s’posed to choose people who’ll work FOR YOU! Can still vote for Measures — do NOT have to choose 1 of what they offer — can leave those intentionally empty & your ballot still counts.
That was a very good comment SunnyB and i TOTALLY AGREE with all of it. it makes me wonder why so many here in the USA are so evil and consumed with hate and want bad things for regular people like most Rethugs and their followers are. They are so narcissistic and self absorbed they only think that what they want is all that is important. People like that have something terribly wrong with their minds and need some serious psychological evaluation. The USA has an alarming number of citizens that are like that and it makes for a sick society. I just hope we can vote BLUE in enough numbers to overcome the GQP vote rigging and unfair tactics they have planned, The GQP is corrupt, dishonest, criminal and rotten to the core, and i fear there is going to be violence in the upcoming middle term elections especially in the states that have Rethug majority government and Governors. The GQP will do everything possible to win elections and that includes blatantly breaking the law and resorting to unspeakable violence. We shouldn’t have to worry about our elections like we do, but all of this started because of one of the most despicable, evil, criminals ever created named Donald J TUMP. His lying and brainwashing tactics and false statements about election rigging and stolen votes started this whole miserable thing!!!! He is a horrible freak of nature that hopefully doesn’t happen again.
Honestly I understand that Republicans are desperate to try to clear Trump from all the collusion charges and equally desperate to get something, anything on Hillary but the Sussman investigation cost $2.3m. The twelve Benghazi investigations probably cost about twelve times that and lord knows how much the email investigation cost. If you’re talking about government waste I have to think that $50m here and $50m there start to add up. Republicans have already vowed virtually unlimited investigations of everyone in the Biden administration if they can retake the House. Enough already.