By Nancy Thorner and Ed Ingold –
Do you remember the game of Telephone, where someone would hear a statement, then pass to the next person, whispering what he thought he heard into her ear? The game concluded by comparing the last story to the starting version. The results were always widely different.
While this game provided some amusement over human fallibility, it also provided a life lesson on the reliability of hearsay, even eyewitness testimony. What we have now is the game of Telephone in Washington DC and throughout the media. This time it is for keeps.
The New York Times published a story about a memo allegedly written by fired FBI Commissioner James Comey regarding a private conversation with President Trump last January. In this memo, according to NYT, President Trump allegedly asked Comey “I hope you can let this go” regarding General Flynn. The NYT did not see this memo, but wrote the story in response to an anonymous phone call from someone saying what it said.
Hearsay!
As the story progresses, each relay adds or detracts something from the previous version. On MSNBC, it is now, “The President demanded Comey drop the investigation.” Nobody takes the time to research the story, but merely reports on what others have reported, and adds spin to suit their agenda. And so it goes. Based on whatever version they prefer, Democrats are calling for an independent prosecutor and impeachment.
A parallel story line regards the President’s meeting with the Russian Foreign Minister and ambassador. According to the Washington Post, Trump revealed “highly secret” intelligence, revealing Israel to be the source. Others present at the time say nothing out of the ordinary was discussed. Israel has no problem with the matter, even though WAPO says they were incensed. Actually, information leaked to WAPO by an anonymous source cited details which were sensitive, a felony under current law (but not illegal to publish, regardless of the source).
Sorry, wrong number. It’s time for the facts.
