By: Sarah JonesMay. 14th, 2013
Turns out the press got played again by Republicans. Jake Tapper has
the smoking gun of the original email from the Obama administration
which differs significantly from the “leaked emails” ABC ran with.
In an exclusive for
CNN,
Tapper reveals that CNN has the original email sent by a top Obama
aide, regarding the administration’s reaction to the Benghazi attacks.
Tapper reported, “The actual email differs from how sources
characterized it to two different media organizations.”
“The actual email from then-Deputy National Security Adviser for Strategic Communications Ben Rhodes appears to show that
whomever
(sic) leaked it did so in a way that made it appear that the White
House primarily concerned with the State Department’s desire to remove
references and warnings about specific terrorist groups so as to not
bring criticism to the department,” Tapper concludes (my bold).
The email was sent on Friday, September 14, 2012, at 9:34 p.m. and was obtained by
CNN from
a U.S. government source. Ironically, the email points out that there
is a “ton of wrong information” coming from Congress and people who are
not particularly informed (waving hello to Congressional Republicans and
Mitt Romney):
“Sorry to be late to this discussion. We need to resolve this in a
way that respects all of the relevant equities, particularly the
investigation.
“There is a ton of wrong information getting out into the public
domain from Congress and people who are not particularly informed.
Insofar as we have firmed up assessments that don’t compromise intel or
the investigation, we need to have the capability to correct the record,
as there are significant policy and messaging ramifications that would
flow from a hardened mis-impression.
“We can take this up tomorrow morning at deputies.”
Read the full email
here.
Tapper notes how ABC and the Weekly Standard covered the leaked
emails, which were “paraphrased” “inaccurately” and “inventing the
notion” that the White House tried to protect the State Department:
Whoever provided those quotes and paraphrases did so
inaccurately, seemingly inventing the notion that Rhodes wanted the
concerns of the State Department specifically addressed. Nuland,
particularly, had expressed a desire to remove mentions of specific
terrorist groups and CIA warnings about the increasingly dangerous
assignment. Rhodes put no emphasis at all in his email on the State
Department’s concerns.
Previous reporting also misquoted Rhodes as saying the group would
work through the talking points at the deputies meeting on Saturday,
September 15, when the talking points to Congress were finalized. While
the previously written subject line of the email mentions talking
points, Rhodes only addresses misinformation in a general sense.
Tapper condemned the leaker as having the agenda to make the White House look like they were protecting the State Department.
This is why we do not run with these stories when they first come
out. Consistently over Obama’s first term, we found that when the facts
come out later (as I pointed out in the new shiny ball IRS scandal
story), it has turned out that the stories were being planted in the
press. The information was wrong. There was an agenda afloat.
What is even worse for Republicans is that the real email expresses
dismay at the uninformed spreading bullcrap. The only people screaming
bullcrap about Benghazi were Republicans who sought to use it to win an
election.
Another day, another conspiracy debunked. Now, when will the press
stop falling for this crap? Note to the media, the next time a
“Republican congressional aide” or unnamed source has a smoking gun
OMG!!11!!! Nixon Bush scandal, you might want to find a back up source,
and get the original documents before being Breitbarted by edited
emails/videos/etc.
Will the media apologize to Obama and Clinton? Will the leaker be
outed? Will an investigation be set up to find out who misled the public
on such a serious matter? We await House Republicans investigating
themselves to stop the misinformation leaks.
Update 7:44PM EST: Jonathan Karl, who wrote the original ABC story in which he claimed to have reviewed the actual emails, now
admits that he did not read the actual emails, but rather was “quoting verbatim a source who reviewed the original documents and shared detailed notes.” As
Media Matters notes,
Karl’s original report read, “White House emails reviewed by ABC News
suggest the edits were made with extensive input from the State
Department.” The emails were not actually reviewed by ABC News.
Benghazi Bombshell: Leaked Emails Were Edited to Make Obama Look Bad was written by Sarah Jones for PoliticusUSA.
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