As the advertising push attempts to stop the deep state from removing corruption, please be patient. Anticipate “news” stories blatantly mentioning regular budget cuts and staff cuts that would take place in any sluggish private business but which Trump will be criticized as unjust or even dangerous.  ,
Take, for instance, the Feb. 24 range from CNN,” How Trump’s government-cutting goes risk exposing the CIA’s strategies”. Four CNN authors were needed for the little report: Zachary Cohen, Natasha Bertrand, Katie Bo Lillis, and Phil Mattingly.
Exposing CIA tricks? That sounds really risky. How much of a threat are we currently facing?
According to CNN,” As the CIA weighs team cuts, current and former intelligence officials claim that mass layoffs could provide a rich recruitment opportunity for foreign intelligence services — like China or Russia— who does get to utilize economically disadvantaged or angry past people.”
The part goes on.
Some officers are also slowly discussing how large firings and the buyouts now offered to employees risk creating a group of disgruntled former employees who might be motivated to take what they know to a foreign intelligence services, according to   on the CIA’s 7th flooring, home to major leadership. ( But “quietly”, evidently, that CNN could hear them, as Federalist Editor-in-Chief Mollie Hemingway pointed out.)
Is that a risk to the CIA? Is CNN reporting that Trump should maintain all employed because, if he doesn’t, former CIA officials did flow U. S. techniques to our foes? Apparently so.
But if that’s the case, these are exactly the employees who should be fired. Those who have the least integrity to leave with grace shouldn’t be employed in positions that require access to sensitive information. The CIA personnel CNN cites should not be relied upon for any more information.
CNN makes it seem like valued model intelligence employees will get the axe in the same article, and that those same employees are ripe for the picking. Which is it, CNN?
Because they are concerned, the media wants you to be. If Trump cleans house, it will destroy their business model. CNN and other propagandists have exploited unethical leaking of deep state sources, treating their whispers as gospel, and amplifying their aims through high-profile “news” stories.  ,  ,  ,  ,
If Trump fires their sources, it will be more difficult for the media to collaborate with the intelligence community to produce propaganda to be sold to the general public. CNN and the deep state have a long-standing, too cozy relationship.
According to Hemingway, the CIA and other intelligence services provided CNN with information that helped spread the Russia collusion hoax. The intelligence agency carried out phony news reports for CNN and other outlets.
In 2017, a piece was published by four CNN reporters, Evan Perez, Jim Sciutto, Jake Tapper, and Carl Bernstein. The article falsely claimed that Trump had” compromising personal and financial information” from Russian operatives. He immediately uncovered these intelligence leaks.
Top reporters are occasionally contacted by senior officials with incredible story pitches. The knowledgeable reporter independently examines the data and asks,” Why is this person or organization pitching this story to me?” What is his motivation?’ Politicians in large and small media markets have a fad when using the media as a tool, so it’s worth asking if the CIA is using CNN as a ( reluctant ) tool in this situation.
Current and former US officials who are familiar with internal discussions say that the administration’s efforts to cut the workforce and audit spending at the CIA and elsewhere threaten to jeopardize some of the government’s most sensitive work.
Everything up to the word “elsewhere” is true. The Trump administration is reducing both spending and hiring. Everything after that is anonymously sourced speculation, commonly known as propaganda.  ,
The phrase” threaten to jeopardize some of the government’s most sensitive work” is a fantasy or a not-so-subtle threat from intelligence community members whose partisan loyalties outweigh their love of country. Although it has not yet occurred, it is presented as news here. The source of this speculation? ” Current and former US officials familiar with internal deliberations”. Four CNN reporters are a little unsure where to find a quotable source. The four reporters only gave names once in their propaganda piece, which gave sources 18 times. Here is a look at every source referenced in the story, in the order they appear:  ,  ,
” A source with knowledge of the situation told CNN,”
” As current and former US officials with knowledge of internal discussions say”
” a senior career Treasury Department official”
” some officers”
” Resources with knowledge of the matter said”
” Former intelligence officials said”
” said one former CIA officer, speaking hypothetically”
“one of these people said”
“one US official said”
” this person said”
“former officials noted”
” The episode was reported by current and former officials who were well-versed in it”
” the first official said”
” Another US official sympathetic to Trump’s efforts noted”
” some current and former officials said”
” One knowledgeable source told CNN that the matter is serious.”
“former Treasury officials said”
” Joseph Gioeli, the Fiscal Service’s Deputy Commissioner for Transformation and Modernization”
If CNN wants to preserve what is still in place of its crumbling credibility, it would be wise to stay away from stories based on CIA threats and anonymous sources. But at least in this report, one of CNN’s anonymous sources got it right:” The kind of person who might do such a thing ]sell U. S. secrets to a foreign power ] is precisely the type the agency should be removing from its ranks”.
The Federalist’s Beth Brelje is a correspondent for elections. She is an award-winning investigative journalist with decades of media experience.
