Russiagate: The Real Scandal, Part 1 | 5-Minute Videos | PragerU
It’s the biggest political scandal in US history. Millions were led to believe that a presidential candidate was a secret Russian agent. The media ran with it. Intelligence officials fueled it. But behind the headlines was something even more alarming. Lee Smith, author of The Plot Against the President, tells the story.
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Transcript:
Russiagate: The Real Scandal, Part 1
Presented by Lee Smith
It’s the biggest political scandal in US history. There’s no close second.
Looking back, it all seems almost unbelievable — absurd. But at the time, millions were convinced that the 2016 Republican candidate for president, Donald Trump, was secretly working for Russia.
This was the Trump-Russia Collusion Hoax or “Russiagate,” a label borrowed from the 1970s Watergate scandal.
The instigators of this deception were not foreign adversaries. They were domestic actors—a presidential campaign, senior intelligence officials, and, perhaps most importantly, powerful media outlets.
They all shared the same goal: defeat Donald Trump and elect Hillary Clinton, the Democratic Party candidate.
Ironically, what became Russiagate began as an “insurance policy” to protect Clinton.
While serving as secretary of state, Clinton used a private, unsecured email server for official business — a clear violation of federal record-keeping rules and a serious national security risk. In 2015, the FBI opened an investigation.
Clinton’s advisors knew this could become an election-threatening scandal. If it blew up, she needed a way to redirect attention — away from her own misconduct and toward her opponent.
Among those who helped develop this strategy were senior members of President Barack Obama’s national security circle, including CIA Director John Brennan.
The strategy came to be known as the “Clinton Plan.” The idea was straightforward: if Clinton’s emails became a liability, media attention would be redirected to the supposed culprit who stole and leaked the emails: Russia. And why would Russia steal them and make them public? To help Donald Trump win. Because, the story went, they supposedly had compromising material with which to blackmail him.
To construct this narrative, the Clinton team hired a former British intelligence officer named Christopher Steele.
Even a cursory glimpse into Steele’s past would have revealed that he was not to be trusted. A “spy for hire” of dubious credibility, he had worked both for the FBI and London-based Russian oligarchs—and he made no secret of his hatred for Donald Trump.
Steele produced a collection of sensational memos — the now infamous Steele Dossier. It contained lurid and unverified claims.
Still, the idea that one of the world’s most famous businessmen — now the Republican nominee for president — was secretly a Russian intelligence asset was irresistible to Trump’s political opponents. That — sadly — included most of the media. Never mind that Trump’s celebrity-studded career in television, real estate and casinos meant he was under constant scrutiny. Steele’s material gave Clinton’s team exactly what they wanted: a salacious narrative that could dominate the headlines.
In early July 2016, Clinton’s worst fears materialized. At a highly publicized press conference, FBI Director James Comey announced the findings of the FBI’s investigation: emails containing classified information were found on her unsecured server, a national security violation. Comey declined to recommend prosecution but described Clinton’s conduct as “extremely careless.”
It was a public relations disaster. But the Clinton team was ready. Articles based on Steele’s dossier began to seep into media outlets like The Atlantic, The New Yorker, and Slate, alleging Trump had secret ties to Russia.
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So incredible that this could happen in America!!! We had, and still have, some Very Evil people in positions of power EG so many media outlets. Our President is working so hard to Clean Up !!! God bless him and everyone committed to him. God bless America!! ❤❤❤🎉🎉🎉
Was this not seditious conspiracy??? Where are the charges??? Clinton, Pelosi, Schumer and the 51 agents should be charged.
2020 election I would think should be up there
Interesting accusations. Do you have any evidence you can link to which we can look at or are we supposed to just take your word for it? I want multiple sources and you to list said sources as well.
Subsequent events have sometimes make one wonder if Russia has something over Trump. Instead of thwarting and crushing the Kremlin goblin as the tyrannous kleptocratic mafioso and war criminal that he is, he's treated as someone who might be a welcome guest.
Thank goodness this has gotten a ton of views.
FDJT January 6 TRAITOR!!!!
The truth always, eventually, comes out. The downside is, the guilty are never punished
Why should anyone follow the law when those in charge do not and are never held accountable for their crimes?
All these years not a sole in prison. What government we are.
Clinton, Brennan, Comey and Schiff are still free today
Ray Charles could have seen through the BS Hillary was spouting!
DAYUM ! this is good
The people who believe this man’s BS video are probably either jealous of Hillary for some stupid selfish reason, or outright sexist and denying that. Trump has been allowed to accept a mysterious jumbo jet gift from the Middle East and you conservatives don’t find that really strange!! What country do we really live in? A future American authoritarian empire??
I called it out years ago.
HILLARY'S Own Campaign manager TESTIFIED that SHE was the ONE that started the Russian Collusion HOAX in the Sussman's Trial UNDER OATH!!! What should SCARE the HELL out of EVERYONE is that SEVERAL DIRECTORS of Intelligence AGENCIES WERE INVOLVED!!! Clapper Brennan and COMEY, and others. The letter saying Hunter's laptop was Russian Disinformation signed by 51 so called intelligence agents, Had Clapper and Brennan's signatures!!! AND their REWARD was going to be on the DISINFORMATION Department Board!!! You CAN'T Make this SHHT UP!! While KILLARY was playing Secretary of State and using the ILLEGAL SERVER, she went to China and THEY ADMITTED that they HACKED Her!! SHORTLY after that, China ARRESTED AND EXECUTED 13 CIA Spies!!! I wonder WHERE they found the information at,,,, NOT!
First thing is that if somebody was looking at all the "evidence" they had, the claim would have been rejected. They couldn't put together enough stuff for this, so they had to keep it hidden. After Trump won, under the current chiefs of the 3letter agencies, they were able to keep hidden the "evidence" under the claim that Russia must not know what they know(😂) and claim corruption of the election, accusing Trump of interference with Russia. The purpose was to impeach him, or at least to block his Presidential power.
It was a coup.
Sounds something like the Nazis would do.
Not one Democrats has gone to jail for this act of traitor
Its the SECOND biggest scandal. The BIGGEST scandal is the 2020 election being stolen by people who publicly claim that Biden obtained 81 million legitimate votes.
Trump = Biden = Socialism = The USA are a third world country
Putin loved Trump and Brexit.
Now we are sure he’s Putin’s puppet
This is an excellent explanation of Russiagate, exposing a deliberate and corrupt attempt by the Democratic Party to steal the election from the American people.
Russia, Russia, Russia, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, and then the Mueller Witch Hunt where the conclusion was no collusion
H🌏🤗👩💛🇺🇸😇🙌
Trump didn't have "ties to Russia" but Clintons and Bidens did. So the "Steele Dosier" was fabricated BY THE RUSSIAN FSB to frame Trump, and to help the real Russian puppets – American MARXISTS (the Left).