February 16, 2024

Don Jr. isn't very bright.

So when it turns out the FBI informant that everyone in TrumpWorld and the GOP was touting as THE lynchpin that would blow the cover off of all the BRIBES Joe Biden was taking Burisma Burisma Burisma...

As Chris Hayes pointed out on Thursday night, Hannity alone did 85 segments on the now-arrested informant.

CHRIS HAYES (HOST): In his show, Fox host Sean Hannity alone promoted the claim of the single FBI informant no less than 85 times last year, 28 of those segments were monologues, very long monologues, in addition to all the breathless so-called reporting. And this was across all the right-wing media. Hannity had House Oversight Committee Chairman and chief Biden crime family investigator James Comer on as a guest 43 times in 2023. Today, James Comer and Sean Hannity's favorite informant, the smoking gun for their investigation, was arrested at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas. He was indicted on two counts of feeding the FBI false information about President Joe Biden and his son Hunter.

...

The New York Post, also owned by Rupert Murdoch, like Fox, "Biden: $10 million bribe file, Burisma chief said he was coerced to pay Joe, 'stupid' Hunter in bombshell allegations. Joe Biden allegedly paid $5 million by Burisma executive as part of a bribery scheme, according to FBI document." Now, here's where it gets interesting. That FBI document was that this confidential informant wrote a form, making his bribery allegation, in fact, it's part of what he's being indicted for, since it was a fabrication. But then, in this kind of alleyoop play, right? The Republicans on the Hill know this document exists and they shake it loose to the public. This is Chuck Grassley in July of 2023, "For the better part of a year I've been pushing the Justice Department, FBI, to provide details on its handling very significant allegations from a trusted FBI informant, implicating then Vice President Biden in a criminal bribery scheme." So they know about it, they brow beat the DOJ to shake it loose, as if they're covering up, and now it turns out the man's being indicted for fabricating it.

So what did Hannity do last night when his favorite witness against Biden literally got arrested for fabricating evidence?

CRICKETS, of course.

And the thing is, if you're a full-time propagandist like Sean, that's what you do. It's the professional thing to do, if your actual job is brainwashing stupid people.

Don Jr. is too stupid to brainwash stupid people. Instead of moving on to the next lie, Don Jr. points to the factual evidence and says, "Deep State." That's a hashtag fail, Don Jr.!

DONALD TRUMP JR (HOST): David Weiss, the special counsel appointed by Joe Biden...

WAIT A MINUTE, DON. David Weiss was appointed by your daddy. Credit where credit is due, dude!

...just indicted the informant who claimed that Burisma bribed the Bidens. What do you make of this indictment, and what can you tell us in the context of all of your other reporting? Because, I mean, this just seems like literally, you know, deep state retribution at this point. I, you know, I remember a time where all, informants, all people, all people who are willing to, come out there and say something about the president, especially as it related to potential corruption, were treated as heroes, and this seems very different.

JOHN SOLOMON (GUEST): Yeah. Listen. This is a long line of informants who have blown up on the FBI. Now whether or not people will believe what David Weiss charges depends on the evidence. Right?

But John Solomon is smarter than Don Jr. Solomon uses this opportunity to kick up a whole lotta dust about "the Russia Hoax" to distract his audience.

SOLOMON: We know that Mr. Smirnov is assumed innocent, and he's going to get his chance in court. And the government's got to prove why they think he lied. And here's another thing, why it took 4 years for the FBI to suddenly come to this conclusion when not that long ago, the FBI was telling the Congress that this guy was one of the more credible and well paid informants, somebody who had been useful before. So, there are people tonight already out there, Marjorie Taylor Greene and others, wondering whether this is political. I think we gotta let the facts bear out.

There's not enough information in this indictment yet to make a really informed decision about what went on here. But let's suppose the worst-case scenario for Mr. Smirnov, that there's really strong evidence against this. What we now know is the very FBI that went after you because of the Trump Tower allegations that turned out to be a big nothingburger...

A reminder that Trump/Russia was not a nothingburger but it was suppressed by Bill Barr and the Trump DOJ, which, again, appointed David Weiss.

TRUMP JR: But, John, but that was a win for them because, I mean, they did that on purpose. I mean, we know that now. That was a win. Like, I mean, it should be if you're the American public looking objectively at the FBI, yes, you say that, but that was that was a win. They got what they wanted.

Now that they got caught, it's, you know, oh, yeah. My bad. You know, there's no accountability. There's nothing.

Don Jr. demanding accountability is the chef's kiss. And he just spent an entire segment of his Rumble show talking about a battle TrumpWorld and Fox Propaganda LOST. Good going, Junior!

Media Matters: Chris Hayes, Don Jr.

Can you help us out?

For nearly 20 years we have been exposing Washington lies and untangling media deceit, but now Facebook is drowning us in an ocean of right wing lies. Please give a one-time or recurring donation, or buy a year's subscription for an ad-free experience. Thank you.

Discussion

We welcome relevant, respectful comments. Any comments that are sexist or in any other way deemed hateful by our staff will be deleted and constitute grounds for a ban from posting on the site. Please refer to our Terms of Service for information on our posting policy.
Mastodon