Authoritarianism
Here’s A Guide To Republican Lies On Russiagate
Every night now, the Republicans are on national television lying about #Russiagate. Here’s a guide to their most popular whoppers:
(1) LIE #1: Obama's Director of National Intelligence, James Clapper, says there's nothing to #Russiagate–so there must be nothing there.
— Seth Abramson (@SethAbramson) March 22, 2017
(2) THE TRUTH: Comey told Rep. Stefanik under oath that he never briefed Clapper on his #Russiagate investigation. Clapper's confirmed this.
— Seth Abramson (@SethAbramson) March 22, 2017
(3) LIE #2: There is no evidence of collusion between Trump's campaign, transition, or administration and Russian officials or Putin allies.
— Seth Abramson (@SethAbramson) March 22, 2017
(4) THE TRUTH: Trump adviser Roger Stone admits corresponding with a Russian hacker; NSA Flynn resigned over clandestine calls to a Russian.
— Seth Abramson (@SethAbramson) March 22, 2017
(5) LIE #3: After 8 months of investigation, the FBI and other intelligence agencies investigating #Russiagate have come up with _nothing_.
— Seth Abramson (@SethAbramson) March 22, 2017
(6) THE TRUTH: No one _knows_ what the investigation has found, as it's ongoing. Even Congress got only a limited briefing just 2 weeks ago.
— Seth Abramson (@SethAbramson) March 22, 2017
(7) LIE #4: The only evidence of a scandal that means anything is direct evidence–until you have that, you shouldn't even be investigating.
— Seth Abramson (@SethAbramson) March 22, 2017
(8) THE TRUTH: Criminal investigation doesn't work that way. Reams of circumstantial #Russiagate evidence is rightly spurring investigation.
— Seth Abramson (@SethAbramson) March 22, 2017
(9) LIE #5: The only motivation behind the #Russiagate investigation is relitigating the presidential election or animus toward Republicans.
— Seth Abramson (@SethAbramson) March 22, 2017
(10) THE TRUTH: No matter what happens with #Russiagate, there'll be a GOP president, GOP House, and GOP Senate. Every Democrat knows this.
— Seth Abramson (@SethAbramson) March 22, 2017
(11) LIE #6: Flynn was an informal Trump adviser; Manafort had a limited role with the campaign; Page and Stone had no role in the campaign.
— Seth Abramson (@SethAbramson) March 22, 2017
(12) THE TRUTH: Flynn was Trump's NSA; Manafort, his campaign manager for six months. Page was _officially_ an advisor; Stone, unofficially.
— Seth Abramson (@SethAbramson) March 22, 2017
(13) LIE #7: Having contact with Russians is normal for a U.S. politician, and the Democrats are somehow trying to criminalize such contact.
— Seth Abramson (@SethAbramson) March 22, 2017
(14) THE TRUTH: No campaign has _ever_ had anything like this much contact with a geopolitical enemy, let alone _repeatedly lied about it_.
— Seth Abramson (@SethAbramson) March 22, 2017
(15) LIE #8: There's _nothing unusual_ about a president wanting to encourage better relations with a geopolitical enemy, so kudos to Trump.
— Seth Abramson (@SethAbramson) March 22, 2017
(16) THE TRUTH: No president has so savagely attacked NATO, non-NATO allies, and U.S. politicians–while reserving only praise for an enemy.
— Seth Abramson (@SethAbramson) March 22, 2017
(17) LIE #9: There's no point in investigating #Russiagate, as the idea it will result in impeachment is no more than a Democratic fantasy.
— Seth Abramson (@SethAbramson) March 22, 2017
(18) THE TRUTH: If the #Russiagate plot is confirmed, it'll be the worst political scandal in history. All Republicans will vote to impeach.
— Seth Abramson (@SethAbramson) March 22, 2017
(19) LIE #10: The entire #Russiagate scandal relies on a single "dodgy dossier" compiled for money by a former spy with a muddy reputation.
— Seth Abramson (@SethAbramson) March 22, 2017
(20) THE TRUTH: Much of the dossier is already confirmed; Steele, a top MI6 spy, has a sterling reputation; and there's way _more_ evidence.
— Seth Abramson (@SethAbramson) March 22, 2017
(21) BONUS LIE: America is already sick of the #Russiagate story and the Democrats are only hurting themselves by continuing to focus on it.
— Seth Abramson (@SethAbramson) March 22, 2017
(22) BONUS TRUTH: Per a recent CNBC poll, only 25% of Americans think Congress shouldn't conduct a massive #Russiagate probe; a majority do.
— Seth Abramson (@SethAbramson) March 22, 2017
