.
Conservatives Should Re-energize “Obamagate” To Derail Biden’s Campaign
The impeached president trump, Republican lawmakers, and right-wing media personalities should re-energize their vague conspiracy theory accusing former President Barack Obama and his administration of masterminding the Russia investigation and engineering a "deep-state" campaign to undermine the will-inevitably-be-impeached-president trump's presidency before it even began.
First, a bit of history. The conspiracy now called “Obamagate”, was invented by the will-inevitably-be-impeached-president trump in 2017 as “Spygate”, but it never gained traction. The 2020 election season arrived, and with Status Quo Joe as his prospective opponent in November, the now impeached president trump trotted out his failed conspiracy theory “Spygate”, but with the new moniker, “Obamagate”.
Just like “Spygate”, “Obamagate” revolves around former national security adviser Michael Flynn, who pleaded guilty in 2017 to one count of lying to the FBI as part of the bureau's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 US election.
A reminder of why he was investigated: Flynn admitted to lying to investigators about a December 29, 2016 phone call with then Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak, during which the incoming national security adviser asked that the Kremlin not retaliate against new sanctions Obama had levied against Russia. Flynn carefully explained to the Russian ambassador that the will-inevitably-be-impeach-president trump planned to cooperate in every way possible with Russian president Vladimir Putin.
The conspiracy theory picked up steam when Richard Grenell, the acting director of national intelligence, declassified a list of Obama administration officials who made unmasking requests, which included Flynn's name, between November 30, 2016, and January 12, 2017. Status Quo Joe’s was among the names on the list.
The impeached president trump and his allies seized on the development and said it showed Status Quo Joe and others improperly and illegally unmasked the former national security adviser's identity.
But a Washington Post report blew up that allegation when it revealed that Flynn's name was never "masked" in the first place: "When the FBI circulated the report, they included Flynn's name from the beginning" because it was essential to understanding its significance, a former senior US official told The Post. "There were therefore, no requests for the unmasking of that information."
But, since facts rarely factor into the conservatives’ thought processes (the same can be said for many centrists), a concerted Facebook disinformation campaign by right-wingers and centrists loyal to the impeached president trump, citing the many false allegations of “Obamagate”, could go far in derailing Status Quo Joe’s presidential hopes.
It would be a shame to waste such a great conspiracy theory, which could spread on Facebook like a California summer wildfire. So, it’s something to think about.
‘OBAMAGATE!’: Trump’s conspiracy theory for mystery ‘crimes,’ explained
.
Conservatives Should Re-energize “Obamagate” To Derail Biden’s Campaign
The impeached president trump, Republican lawmakers, and right-wing media personalities should re-energize their vague conspiracy theory accusing former President Barack Obama and his administration of masterminding the Russia investigation and engineering a "deep-state" campaign to undermine the will-inevitably-be-impeached-president trump's presidency before it even began.
First, a bit of history. The conspiracy now called “Obamagate”, was invented by the will-inevitably-be-impeached-president trump in 2017 as “Spygate”, but it never gained traction. The 2020 election season arrived, and with Status Quo Joe as his prospective opponent in November, the now impeached president trump trotted out his failed conspiracy theory “Spygate”, but with the new moniker, “Obamagate”.
Just like “Spygate”, “Obamagate” revolves around former national security adviser Michael Flynn, who pleaded guilty in 2017 to one count of lying to the FBI as part of the bureau's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 US election.
A reminder of why he was investigated: Flynn admitted to lying to investigators about a December 29, 2016 phone call with then Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak, during which the incoming national security adviser asked that the Kremlin not retaliate against new sanctions Obama had levied against Russia. Flynn carefully explained to the Russian ambassador that the will-inevitably-be-impeach-president trump planned to cooperate in every way possible with Russian president Vladimir Putin.
The conspiracy theory picked up steam when Richard Grenell, the acting director of national intelligence, declassified a list of Obama administration officials who made unmasking requests, which included Flynn's name, between November 30, 2016, and January 12, 2017. Status Quo Joe’s was among the names on the list.
The impeached president trump and his allies seized on the development and said it showed Status Quo Joe and others improperly and illegally unmasked the former national security adviser's identity.
But a Washington Post report blew up that allegation when it revealed that Flynn's name was never "masked" in the first place: "When the FBI circulated the report, they included Flynn's name from the beginning" because it was essential to understanding its significance, a former senior US official told The Post. "There were therefore, no requests for the unmasking of that information."
But, since facts rarely factor into the conservatives’ thought processes (the same can be said for many centrists), a concerted Facebook disinformation campaign by right-wingers and centrists loyal to the impeached president trump, citing the many false allegations of “Obamagate”, could go far in derailing Status Quo Joe’s presidential hopes.
It would be a shame to waste such a great conspiracy theory, which could spread on Facebook like a California summer wildfire. So, it’s something to think about.
‘OBAMAGATE!’: Trump’s conspiracy theory for mystery ‘crimes,’ explained
.
