NPR broke a story today about how the White House — and possibly Trump himself — colluded with a Texas-based Trump donor and Fox News to push a fake news story about murdered DNC staffer Seth Rich. The fake news was broadcast on fake news outlet Fox News specifically to take the focus off the Trump-Russia collusion story:
Behind Fox News’ Baseless Seth Rich Story: The Untold Tale
The Fox News Channel and a wealthy supporter of President Trump worked in concert under the watchful eye of the White House to concoct a story about the murder of a young Democratic National Committee aide, according to a lawsuit filed Tuesday.
The explosive claim is part of the lawsuit filed against Fox News by Rod Wheeler, a longtime paid commentator for the news network. The suit was obtained exclusively by NPR.
Wheeler alleges Fox News and the Trump supporter intended to deflect public attention from growing concern about the administration’s ties to the Russian government. His suit charges that a Fox News reporter created quotations out of thin air and attributed them to him to propel her story…
The first page of the lawsuit quotes a voicemail and text from Butowsky boasting that President Trump himself had reviewed drafts of the Fox News story just before it went to air and was published.
Spicer now tells NPR that he took the meeting as a favor to Butowsky, a reliable Republican voice. Spicer says he was unaware of any contact involving the president. Butowsky now tells NPR he was kidding about Trump’s involvement.
“Just kidding” my ass — Trump was on this story like a duck on a June bug, as was Sean Hannity and the Trump sock puppet crew at Fox & Friends. And this on the heels of the news yesterday that Trump dictated the lies about the nature of the meeting at Trump Tower between Russian operatives and Trump’s idiot son, son-in-law, campaign chairman, etc.
Prediction: this story — added to the growing mountain of evidence that Trump lies all the time and orchestrates fake news to cover up his campaign’s involvement with Russia — will furrow many a Republican brow. But it will inspire no action whatsoever from that group.
Meanwhile, the fake president who uses fake news to protect his fake victory, is projecting again this morning:
Only the Fake News Media and Trump enemies want me to stop using Social Media (110 million people). Only way for me to get the truth out!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 1, 2017
That’s a bald-faced lie, of course. It’s Trump’s supporters and operatives who are begging the shitgibbon to quit tweeting. Those of us who want him to fail (for America’s sake!) fully support Trump’s right to continue to obstruct justice, issue threats and generally make a fool of himself on Twitter.