None of the Russia collusion narrative has been proven, while the actual collusion took place between Israel and the US, a very inconvenient area for Russia-gate enthusiasts, says senior writer for AlterNet Max Blumenthal.
RT America’s host Ed Schultz spoke to Blumenthal about ABC’s Brian Ross’ claims of collusion between Trump’s campaign and Russian officials.
Exclusion of collusion: MSM ignores Trump officials’ collusion… with Israel
RT: There just seems to be a culture in the media, we got to get away from, any morsel of information that's out there, it's almost like it is freehand, we can go ahead and go with this. How egregious do you think this is?
Max Blumenthal: That's the right language to use; this is about a broader culture that goes well beyond Brian Ross. And we know Brian Ross does have a record of blundering. But the record of blundering by the Washington press corps on Russia-gate is much more extensive. So it is ironic for me to see the Washington Post media critic accuse ABC of cowardice, of merely clarifying Brian Ross's error, instead of correcting it, when the Washington Post has made so many errors from Russia hacking Vermont's electric grid to the supposed Russian hacking of 21 states electoral systems which have been absolutely discredited in testimony by the Department of Homeland Security. I mean, across the board, we're seeing falsehood after falsehood appear in mainstream media and never or very rarely get corrected. This goes well beyond Brian Ross to an entire culture that's desperate for the ‘Hail Mary’ pass to validate a Russia-gate narrative that has consistently proven to be shabbier and shabbier with each step of the Mueller investigation.
RT: Ironically, this underscores that General Flynn had no contact with the Russians before the election? … If he is so quick to report “That's not what we reported and Trump didn't send him to talk to him before the election.” I mean, I think that this is going down a path right now that someone out there could ask “Where's the crime here?” He talked to people from another country which is not out of the norm in transition.” What do you make of that?
MB: Flynn has been indicted for acts the FBI has apparently known about since, at least, January, so there's nothing new here. That's number one. Number two, I don't know why he had to lie about activity that appears to be completely legal and in keeping with the diplomatic protocol of every administration. He was simply talking to Russia, number one, about cooperating to defeat ISIS and Al-Qaeda, an activity that has really produced positive results on the ground in Syria through de-confliction zones. Refugees are coming back. And the atmosphere in Washington, the anti-Russian atmosphere has really stifled US diplomacy on this point and left the US as a passive bystander while Turkey, Iran, and Russia basically clean up the mess that the West, and its Gulf allies, helped to create in Syria. The second point, where the collusion narrative completely falls apart on the Flynn indictment is in the fact that Flynn was contacting Sergey Kislyak, the Russian ambassador to the US, to lobby Kislyak not to take countermeasures against the US for sanctions the US had imposed on Russia. So, basically, he was asking Russia for something, not the other way around. Russia was asking for nothing from the Trump administration. And these sanctions were imposed because of unproven allegations that Russia hacked the DNC. None of the collusion narratives has been proven here, except with respect to Israel, a very inconvenient area for Russia-gate enthusiasts.
RT: How does Israel play in all of this?
MB: Israel is central in this. And what we're looking at is actually Israel-gate. It was Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law, whose family, Charles Kushner and the family foundation run by his father, has extensive ties to Benjamin Netanyahu. In fact, when Jared Kushner was a boy, and Netanyahu was in town in New York, he would have to leave his bedroom so Benjamin Netanyahu, then the Israeli opposition leader could sleep in his bed. His family has made extensive donations to the Israeli settlement enterprise, something Kushner failed to acknowledge, which is part of the reason why he hasn't gotten a security clearance. And here's Jared Kushner ordering Michael Flynn on behalf of Benjamin Netanyahu, on behalf of a foreign power to lobby the Russians, to use their veto power on the UN Security Council to stifle a resolution that was going to condemn Israel settlement activity. You're looking at actual collusion by the Netanyahu administration through their friend Jared Kushner and Michael Flynn. And that is just completely inconvenient. Because, as we've seen with Haim Saban, one of the largest donors to Hillary Clinton, actually thanking Jared Kushner for colluding with Israel. This is a bipartisan enterprise. This is how the sausage is made in Washington.