What do you know—Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman has been fired from his National Security Council job almost immediately after Donald Trump said, “You think I’m supposed to be happy with him? I’m not,” but that staff would “make that decision” about Vindman’s future at the White House following his impeachment inquiry testimony about Trump’s extremely imperfect Ukraine call.
Trump then retweeted an attack on Vindman, making it 100% clear what “staff” were supposed to be doing about him, and lo and behold, Vindman was out of his job. Since he’s active-duty military, he is expected to be transferred elsewhere.
“Today, Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Vindman was escorted out of the White House where he has dutifully served his country and his President. He does so having spoken publicly once, and only pursuant to a subpoena from the United States Congress,” Vindman’s lawyer said. “There is no question in the mind of any American why this man’s job is over, why this country now has one less soldier serving it at the White House. [He] was asked to leave for telling the truth. His honor, his commitment to right, frightened the powerful.”
President Trump made an economic appeal to blacks and blighted communities Friday during a visit to North Carolina, his first trip outside Washington since his acquittal in his impeachment trial.
Speaking at a community college in Charlotte, Mr. Trump highlighted his work on low-tax "opportunity zones" and other policies that ...
Contrary to popular belief, Fox News is more than just an echo chamber for Donald Trump. Because sometimes Donald Trump is an echo chamber for Fox News. But what’s absolutely certain is that Fox News is not an outlet that anyone should trust when looking for a source of factual, reliable news or analysis. That’s not just the opinion of everyone who has ever bothered to look away from the & Friends couch; it’s also the opinion of the people inside Fox News. As revealed by a series of internal memos, even Fox News has made it clear that it should not be trusted—especially when it comes to the matters at the heart of Trump’s impeachment.
As The Daily Beast reports, an internal Fox briefing book explicitly calls out frequent Fox contributor John Solomon. Solomon used his position at The Hill to publish a series of articles spreading propaganda about Joe Biden’s supposed crimes in Ukraine. Solomon has made multiple appearances on Fox to discuss impeachment and make claims that Biden used his position to protect his son. Sean Hannity put Solomon forward as a “crusading investigative reporter,” and Republicans on Capitol Hill, including Trump’s defense team, regularly cited claims lifted from Solomon’s articles in attacking Biden.
But inside Fox, the truth was that they knew Solomon was lying—and then some. The report notes that Solomon was not disclosing conflicts and was using unreliable sources, misrepresenting sources, and “publishing false and misleading stories.” Overall, the internal report called out Solomon for being an “indispensable” part of a “disinformation campaign” orchestrated by Rudy Giuliani.
Giuliani is singled out as another broadly unreliable character who used his Fox appearances to regularly hide, distort, and deny the truth. That includes lies Trump’s personal attorney spread on Fox about former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch. The briefing book also notes that Giuliani has a “high susceptibility to disinformation,” and draws connections from his actions back to exiled Ukrainian oligarch Dmytro Firtash.
Also on the list of liars are Fox “legal experts” Victoria Toensing and Joe diGenova, both of whom have been supporters of and attorneys for Trump, and both of whom are also employed by Firtash.
Overall, the briefing book shows that Fox News was aware that it was putting out information that was unreliable, suspect, and often downright lies. What it doesn’t show is that it made any effort to stop doing it. And all of the noted liars continued to be given a platform as guests on Fox programs.
