Larry D. Moore CC BY-SA 3.0.
New evidence is emerging that Hillary Clinton’s campaign was, in fact, responsible for spreading the original Birther conspiracy theory in 2008, which alleged that Barack Obama was born in Kenya and therefore potentially ineligible for the presidency.
Though Hillary Clinton — and the media — furiously denied that charge after it was made by Republican nominee Donald Trump on Friday morning, editor James Asher remembered Clinton aide Sidney Blumenthal spreading the rumor.
Asher, the former Washington, D.C. bureau chief for McClatchy, tweeted on Thursday evening in response to Hillary Clinton:
http://twitter.com/jimasher/status/776633213015982080?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
He also tweeted that Blumenthal had personally shopped the Birther story to him — in person — in 2008:
http://twitter.com/jimasher/status/776612456135262212?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Blumenthal’s tactics in the 2008 campaign, on this and other issues, were so toxic that the Obama administration rejected any appointment for him in Hillary Clinton’s State Department. (Nevertheless, she continued to retain Blumenthal as an adviser, exchanging classified information and intelligence with him on Libya, the terror attacks in Benghazi, and other topics.)
Some journalists continue to defend Clinton. Mark Murray, senior political editor for NBC News, said Friday that the fact that “someone” — i.e. Blumenthal — shopped the Birther story around was not, by itself, proof the Clinton campaign “started” it:
If someone shopped the story — and no media outlet ran with it — is that really "starting" it? Not how I see it. https://t.co/ZUL42Luna8
— Mark Murray (@mmurraypolitics) September 16, 2016
Trump said Friday morning:
Hillary Clinton and her campaign of 2008 started the Birther controversy. I finished it. I finished it. You know what I mean. President Barack Obama was born in the United States, period. Now we all want to get back to making America strong and great again. Thank you very much.
CNN’s Jake Tapper, who declared Trump’s claim about Hillary Clinton false immediately after Trump’s speech, said Friday afternoon that he was seeking comment from Asher:
former McClatchy DC bureau chief @jimasher tweeting that Sid Blumenthal pushed birther lie to him in 2008. Asking for comment
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) September 16, 2016
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News. His new book, See No Evil: 19 Hard Truths the Left Can’t Handle, is available from Regnery through Amazon. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.