Screengrab from https://youtu.be/Lp41DKd5w5g

Last night culminated with a collective freakout across the political world after Donald Trump decided to not gaslight the country like every other politicians when it comes to accepting opposition research from foreign sources.

CNN’s Jake Tapper ran to Twitter to post this, obviously expecting not to get a real answer.

Would love to hear from even one Member of Congress who says he takes information on his opponents from foreign countries. https://t.co/hMDNOLxLnS

— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) June 13, 2019

It took about ten seconds for these recent examples to be shared.

https://t.co/dNqhFG3Dbu

— Larry O'Connor (@LarryOConnor) June 13, 2019

Here's Adam Schiff.
On tape.
Believing he's getting "kompromat" on Trump.
From Russia.
He was pranked but thought it was real.https://t.co/tu3u7GRy4b

— Keith Appell (@keithcrc) June 13, 2019

While Schiff says he’d report it to the FBI in the call, he never actually did. Later, it would be revealed that he had gotten pranked. Schiff was clearly eager to get the information.

This entire argument is dumb and simply partisan politics. There’s no moral, nor legal imperative that if a German (for example) offers documented wrongdoing by your opponent, you must immediately turn it over to the FBI and not use it. We live in a global society. Negative information about political candidates comes from all corners and travels far and wide via the internet. This is especially true given how internationally connected and active many Presidential candidates are. If someone does something untoward in a foreign country, it’s logical that a foreign source would be the one to find out.

How stupid is this? Ask yourself when the last time a press member reported themselves and a source to the FBI after a foreigner leaked materials to them? There’s no logical difference here. The media are not a being unto themselves with special carve outs when it comes to free speech and association.

Both sides take information from wherever they can get it. Period. I’m simply not into arbitrary judgements and one-sided outrage.

Neither is Lindsey Graham apparently, who has actually sparred with Trump recently on arms sales (so he does still oppose the President at times) but decided to lay down some truth over this topic.

I made this point to FBI Director Wray during his confirmation hearings. https://t.co/9ZosfuIzaa

— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) June 13, 2019

As if that was not bad enough, the foreign national compiled an unverified dossier that was then used by the FBI to obtain a warrant against an American citizen and surveil an American presidential campaign.

— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) June 13, 2019

American electoral campaigns should be run by, for, and decided by the American people.

Foreign influence in our electoral process is and has been a problem.

— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) June 13, 2019

………..and that information, unverified, was apparently used by the FBI to obtain a warrant against an American citizen.

— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) June 13, 2019

This is yet another example of the media and Democrats wanting Republicans to play by different rules.

You see, it’s perfectly fine to pay a foreign spy to use Russian government sources (including FSB agents) to put together opposition research on Trump. It’s also completely acceptable for the DNC to seek out help from Ukraine to come up with dirt on Paul Manafort in order to hurt Trump.

But Trump answers a hypothetical honestly instead of choosing to lie like every other politician and it’s time to clutch the pearls.

Sorry, I’m not taking my outrage cues from the same people who haven’t found it prudent to dedicate even a minute to condemning the Democrats use of foreign information in 2016.

I might feel differently if consistent, coherent rules on this kind of thing existed but they don’t. I’m certainly not going to mindlessly endorse whatever the media decides is good or bad depending on their partisan wishes.

I also realize there’s a certain segment of the right who are very “disturbed” by Trump’s comments. It’s time to wake up and stop thinking it’s 1955 still. Campaigns get opposition research from wherever they can get it and no one is turning down information from foreign sources these days. We already have statutes that deal with criminal conspiracy. Those are sufficient.

When CNN, MSNBC, Jake Tapper, The Washington Post, and whoever else want to start spending significant time on Democrat actions dealing with foreign sourced materials, then maybe I’ll change my mind on this. Until then, spare me the faux outrage.

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