{"id":69400,"date":"2017-03-22T15:04:21","date_gmt":"2017-03-22T19:04:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/?p=69400"},"modified":"2017-03-22T15:10:46","modified_gmt":"2017-03-22T19:10:46","slug":"muzzled-breitbart-wh-correspondent-ordered-not-to-ask-televised-question-discrediting-dnc-russian-hacking-story","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/?p=69400","title":{"rendered":"MUZZLED: Breitbart WH Correspondent Ordered Not To Ask Televised Question Discrediting DNC Russian Hacking Story"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><!--more--><a href=\"http:\/\/themillenniumreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/CoPRtL4UIAAZain.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-44966\" src=\"http:\/\/themillenniumreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/CoPRtL4UIAAZain.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>by <a title=\"View user profile.\" href=\"http:\/\/www.zerohedge.com\/users\/zeropointnow\">ZeroPointNow<\/a><\/p>\n<p>On Monday, Breitbart investigative reporter and White House correspondent Lee Stranahan <a href=\"http:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/big-government\/2017\/03\/20\/fix-is-in-comey-praised-dnc-hired-cybersecurity-firm-even-after-botched-report\/\" target=\"_blank\">published a huge story<\/a> on Breitbart.com, the facts of which <em>should<\/em> unravel the entire foundation for the Russian election hacking narrative. Stranahan based his report on increasingly discredited evidence, as well as a tweet made by President Trump on March 5th regarding the hacked DNC server:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">What about all of the contact with the Clinton campaign and the Russians? Also, is it true that the DNC would not let the FBI in to look?<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/realDonaldTrump\/status\/843813078076719107?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">March 20, 2017<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s true&#8230; the DNC <a href=\"http:\/\/www.wired.com\/2017\/01\/fbi-says-democratic-party-wouldnt-let-agents-see-hacked-email-servers\/\" target=\"_blank\">did <em>not <\/em>allow<\/a> the FBI to inspect the allegedly hacked servers; instead they used a <a href=\"http:\/\/social.techcrunch.com\/2015\/07\/13\/security-company-crowdstrike-scores-100m-led-by-google-capital\/\" target=\"_blank\">Google-funded<\/a> cybersecurity firm called CrowdStrike &#8211; which FBI director James Comey referred to in testimony Monday as a &#8220;highly respected private company&#8221; despite several reports casting serious doubt on their analysis. Furthermore, CrowdStrike was accused of using <em>false information<\/em> by the government of Ukraine in a separate December report which concluded that Russia hacked Ukrainian military hardware using the same malware allegedly employed in the DNC hack.<\/p>\n<p>In light of the fact that the US election hacking narrative revolves around an increasingly questionable report published by a private company caught in a recent lie, plus the DNC&#8217;s refusal to let the FBI inspect the servers in question (which President Trump tweeted about) &#8211; Breitbart&#8217;s Lee Stranahan had planned to bring the issue up with White House Press Secretary, Sean Spicer. Instead, Matthew Boyle &#8211; Breitbart&#8217;s DC political Editor, ordered Stranahan to stand down and <em>stay away from the White House.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>In other words; don&#8217;t shed light on major developments which could unravel the DNC&#8217;s witch hunt. Stranahan has taken to Periscope to tell his side of the story:<\/p>\n<p>http:\/\/twitter.com\/ZeroPointNow\/status\/844494054058594305?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&#038;ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.zerohedge.com%2Fnews%2F2017-03-22%2Fmuzzled-breitbart-wh-correspondent-ordered-not-ask-televised-question-discrediting-d<\/p>\n<div class=\"SandboxRoot env-bp-350\" data-twitter-event-id=\"1\"><\/div>\n<p>Here&#8217;s what Stranahan wanted to ask:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\"><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/mboyle1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@mboyle1<\/a> (Breitbart&#39;s Pol editor) &#8211; WHY did you order <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/stranahan?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@stranahan<\/a> not to ask <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/seanspicer?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@SeanSpicer<\/a> this question?  <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/Vp54N2GYji\">https:\/\/t.co\/Vp54N2GYji<\/a> \ud83e\udd14 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/koBuTyu9Yl\">pic.twitter.com\/koBuTyu9Yl<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; ZeroPointNow (@ZeroPointNow) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ZeroPointNow\/status\/844495104773566464?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">March 22, 2017<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<div class=\"SandboxRoot env-bp-350\" data-twitter-event-id=\"2\">\n<div class=\"resize-sensor\">Without hearing Breitbart editor Matthew Boyle&#8217;s side, ordering Stranahan to stand down seems rather odd since the Russian hacking narrative &#8211; if deemed true by Congress, would be incredibly damaging to Trump&#8217;s legitimacy as President &#8211; even if there was no collusion.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>Scroll down for the cliffs notes on Stranahan&#8217;s article <\/strong>(though I encourage you to read the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/big-government\/2017\/03\/20\/fix-is-in-comey-praised-dnc-hired-cybersecurity-firm-even-after-botched-report\/\" target=\"_blank\">whole thing<\/a>):<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>The DNC Russian hacking claims rely entirely on a report by a private company the DNC hired called &#8220;CrowdStrike&#8221;<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>(not mentioned in Stranahan&#8217;s article: The Irvine, CA company was partially funded by Google, which led a <a href=\"http:\/\/techcrunch.com\/2015\/07\/13\/security-company-crowdstrike-scores-100m-led-by-google-capital\/\" target=\"_blank\">$100M &#8216;Series C&#8217; investment round<\/a>)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>CrowdStrike&#8217;s report (&#8220;Fancy Bear&#8221;) is highly speculative, inconclusive by most standards, and does not contain &#8220;hard evidence&#8221; per CrowdStrike Co-Founder Dmitri Alperovitch:<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<blockquote>\n<div class=\"quote_start\">The firm suspects they may have targeted DNC employees with \u201cspearphishing\u201d emails. These are communications that appear legitimate \u2014 often made to look like they came from a colleague or someone trusted \u2014 but that contain links or attachments that when clicked on deploy malicious software that enables a hacker to gain access to a computer. \u201c<strong>But we don\u2019t have hard evidence<\/strong>,\u201d Alperovitch said.<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>The MSM ran with the &#8220;Fancy Bear&#8221; report in an attempt to delegitimize Trump:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Starting in June of 2016 and continuing to this day, the DNC, <em>Washington Post,<\/em> <em>New York Times, <\/em>and other MSM outlets have been using the CrowdStrike report to stage a smear campaign against Donald Trump in an attempt to delegitimize the President while providing an excuse for Hillary Clinton&#8217;s loss.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Cybersecurity experts and respected journalists have cast serious doubt on it&#8217;s the report&#8217;s validity.<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/medium.com\/@jeffreycarr\/we-blame-russia-because-we-cant-blame-russians-3de58bc11cc4#.9puhncypn\" target=\"_blank\">How To Get To \u201cReasonable Certainty\u201d on a Russia Finding <\/a>&#8211; Jeffrey Carr, <em>Medium (12.13.2016)<\/em><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/theintercept.com\/2016\/12\/14\/heres-the-public-evidence-russia-hacked-the-dnc-its-not-enough\/\" target=\"_blank\">HERE\u2019S THE PUBLIC EVIDENCE RUSSIA HACKED THE DNC \u2014 IT\u2019S NOT ENOUGH<\/a> &#8211; Sam Biddle, <em>The Intercept (12.14.2016)<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>In December, CrowdStrike <a href=\"http:\/\/www.crowdstrike.com\/wp-content\/brochures\/FancyBearTracksUkrainianArtillery.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">published another report<\/a> concluding that Russia hacked Ukranian a artillery-targeting app using the SAME &#8220;Fancy Bear&#8221; malware.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Once again, Several new articles casting doubt on CrowdStrike&#8217;s claims cropped up.<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/medium.com\/@jeffreycarr\/the-gru-ukraine-artillery-hack-that-may-never-have-happened-820960bbb02d#.nmjhrcqmn\" target=\"_blank\">The GRU-Ukraine Artillery Hack That May Never Have Happened<\/a> &#8211; <em>Jeffrey Carr, Medium (1.3.2017)<\/em><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/view\/articles\/2016-12-22\/why-i-still-don-t-buy-the-russian-hacking-story\" target=\"_blank\">Why I Still Don&#8217;t Buy the Russian Hacking Story<\/a> &#8211; Leonid Bershidsky, <em>Bloomberg (12.22.2016)<\/em><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.voanews.com\/a\/skeptics-doubt-ukraine-hack-link-to-dnc-cyberattack\/3649234.html\" target=\"_blank\">Skeptics Doubt Ukraine Hack, Its Link to DNC Cyberattack <\/a><em>&#8211; Oleksiy Kuzmenko, VOA (12.23.2016)<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div class=\"injected-ad-wrapper\"><\/div>\n<blockquote>\n<div class=\"quote_start\">\u00a0He told VOA that contacts in the Ukrainian military units that used the app reported no losses of D-30 howitzers, which contradicts large battlefield losses referenced in the CrowdStrike report.<\/div>\n<p>\u201cI personally know hundreds of gunmen in the war zone. None of them told me of D-30 losses caused by hacking or any other reason,\u201d Narozhnyy stressed to the VOA<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>The <em>Government of Ukraine<\/em> issued a statement calling the CrowdStrike report Fake News:<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<blockquote>\n<div class=\"quote_start\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"quote_end\">\u00a0In connection with the emergence in some media reports which stated that the alleged \u201c80% howitzer D-30 Armed Forces of Ukraine removed through scrapping Russian Ukrainian hackers software gunners,\u201d Land Forces Command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine informs that <strong>the said information is incorrect<\/strong>.<\/div>\n<p>Ministry of Defence of Ukraine asks journalists to publish only verified information received from the competent official sources. <strong>Spreading false information leads to increased social tension in society and undermines public confidence in the Armed Forces of Ukraine<\/strong>. &#8211;<em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.mil.gov.ua\/news\/2017\/01\/06\/informacziya-po-vtrati-u-zs-ukraini-80-gaubicz-d-30%E2%80%9D-ne-vidpovidae-dijsnosti\/\">mil.gov.ua<\/a> (translated) (1.6.2017)<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>CrowdStrike relied on a misinterpretation of evidence for the Ukraine story &#8211;<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>The information CrowdStrike relied on came from a Russian propaganda blog, not the IISS (International Institute for Strategic Studies) as CrowdStrike claimed.<\/li>\n<li>An article by VOA News details this fact and puts this whole thing into context: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.voanews.com\/a\/crowdstrike-comey-russia-hack-dnc-clinton-trump\/3776067.html\" target=\"_blank\">Cyber Firm at Center of Russian Hacking Charges Misread Data <\/a>&#8211; Oleksiy Kuzmenko, <em>VOA (3.21.17)<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<blockquote>\n<div class=\"quote_start\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"quote_end\">\u00a0The <a class=\"underline\" href=\"http:\/\/www.crowdstrike.com\/wp-content\/brochures\/FancyBearTracksUkrainianArtillery.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">CrowdStrike report, released in December<\/a>, asserted that Russians hacked into a Ukrainian artillery app, resulting in heavy losses of howitzers in Ukraine\u2019s war with Russian-backed separatists.<\/div>\n<p>But the <a class=\"underline\" href=\"http:\/\/www.iiss.org\/\" target=\"_blank\">International Institute for Strategic Studies<\/a> (IISS) told VOA that <strong>CrowdStrike erroneously used IISS data as proof of the intrusion<\/strong>. IISS disavowed any connection to the CrowdStrike report. Ukraine\u2019s Ministry of Defense also has claimed combat losses and hacking never happened.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><strong>So, given all of the above &#8211; should Congress still rely on the CrowdStrike report? And why was Lee Stranahan ordered by Matthew Boyle to stay away from the White House?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Content originally generated at <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/ibankcoin.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">iBankCoin.com<\/a> <\/strong><strong>*<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>___<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.zerohedge.com\/news\/2017-03-22\/muzzled-breitbart-wh-correspondent-ordered-not-ask-televised-question-discrediting-d\">http:\/\/www.zerohedge.com\/news\/2017-03-22\/muzzled-breitbart-wh-correspondent-ordered-not-ask-televised-question-discrediting-d<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-69400","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69400","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=69400"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69400\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=69400"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=69400"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=69400"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}