Not long after Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) warned on Tuesday that he received a classified intelligence briefing from the FBI about Congressman Eric Swalwell (D-CA) that concerned him enough to pull his Intelligence Committee assignment, some of CNN’s purported journalists on The Lead – including host Jake Tapper – pretended not to know why the compromised Congressman shouldn’t be allowed to serve on the committee. Essentially, gaslighting their viewers.
In December 2020, Axios reported that Swalwell’s campaign was infiltrated by a Chinese spy that went by the name Fang Fang. They noted that Fang installed an intern in Swalwell’s office and had sexual relationships “with at least two mayors of Midwestern cities.” Swalwell has never been publicly grilled on whether his relationship with Fang was also sexual.
Ignoring these facts, Tapper scoffed at McCarthy’s warning and claimed he had “no idea” if he should believe the Speaker or not:
What do you make of it? I – I – I mean, I understand, like, criticizing somebody but saying, “I got a classified briefing from the FBI about so-and-so, and if you knew what I knew, you would agree with what I'm doing.” I'm not saying that's not true. Maybe it is. I have no idea. I've not seen such a thing before.
“And the shield that he has is the word classified,” bemoaned chief political correspondent Dana Bash. “He can say, ‘I can't tell you what I know but trust me, it's bad.’”
There was a sinister audacity to that complaint given that CNN, including Bash, were the beneficiaries of dubious and cryptic statements from Democratic Congressman Adam Schiff (CA), both publicly and leaked, that pushed the Russia collusion hoax. That’s not to mention that’s the basis the journalistic profession when they rely heavily on anonymous sources.
She even hinted she wanted that kind of arrangement, seemingly using the show to request leaks from members of Congress. “The question is whether there are other Republicans or frankly Democrats who might have access to that same classified information who could corroborate,” she said.
Ignoring the ethical questions surrounding how she and her husband have enriched themselves while in office, Tapper looked to now-simple Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi (D-CA). “But I think Pelosi was given the same briefing and she was fine with Swalwell being on the committee,” Tapper lamented, insinuating she was a proper standard bearer who won’t allow someone untoward on a sensitive committee.
Bash took to whining about how a Democrat like Swalwell, who was “rabidly partisan” and “proudly so,” couldn’t be on a committee but a Republican member of the House like Marjorie Taylor Greene (GA) could. “It's also part of him trying to assuage that wing; to say, ‘Look, I'm getting them back for what they did to you because they took you off these committees,’” she said.
Senior political correspondent Abby Phillip argued that Swalwell was only being kicked off the committee “because that's one of the agenda items that the far-right has. I mean, I don't know, there are many other people that get fundraising emails sent out about him. He's definitely one of them on the Republican side.”
This gaslighting about Swalwell by CNN was made possible because of lucrative sponsorships from Intuit and Hello Fresh. Their contact information is linked.
The transcript is below, click "expand" to read:
CNN’s The Lead
January 17, 2023
5:33:10 p.m. Eastern(…)
JAKE TAPPER: What do you make of it? I – I – I mean, I understand, like, criticizing somebody but saying, “I got a classified briefing from the FBI about so-and-so, and if you knew what I knew, you would agree with what I'm doing.” I'm not saying that's not true. Maybe it is. I have no idea. I've not seen such a thing before.
DANA BASH: And the shield that he has is the word classified.
TAPPER: Right.
BASH: He can say, “I can't tell you what I know but trust me, it's bad.” The question is whether there are other Republicans or frankly Democrats who might have access to that same classified information who could corroborate; not the information because we don't know the facts and the content but just the notion that something really, really bad, so bad --
TAPPER: But I think Pelosi was given the same briefing and she was fine with Swalwell being on the committee.
BASH: I mean, there you go. Look, Eric Swalwell has been, to your point, one of the most rabidly partisan, proudly so, Democrats and he also has been somebody on the Intelligence Committee. And this is, no question, payback from Republicans. And remember, this is all part of McCarthy – you mentioned that Marjorie Taylor Greene is on a key committee and others, as well. It's also part of him trying to assuage that wing; to say, “Look, I'm getting them back for what they did to you because they took you off these committees.”
ABBY PHILLIP: Not just getting them back. I mean, Swalwell has become an actual focus of a lot of right-wing attention. So, the act of punishing him is the objective here for McCarthy because that's one of the agenda items that the far-right has. I mean, I don't know there are many other people that get fundraising emails sent out about him. He's definitely one of them on the Republican side.
(…)
