I don’t think NYT story is objectively more “spy-friendly.” If you believe that CIA was right to be skeptical of the secret channel, then the Intercept quotes can sound like spin by NSA folks trying to justify their actions.
-
-
-
“Yes, the CIA folks who said this was a Russian dangle op designed to waste our time and sow discord turned out to be right. Maybe we should have listened to them at the time, but we were worried they were just in the tank for Trump!”
-
Alternatively, if you believe The Intercept’s sources, the NYT sources sound like spin: “It’s true we don’t actively look for stuff to discredit Trump, but that has nothing to do with politics! We’re just worried about spending lots of time and money chasing disinformation.”
End of conversation
New conversation -
-
-
That is not a reported fact in the story: "The CIA, which is now headed by a Trump loyalist, CIA Director Mike Pompeo, has at times been reluctant to stay involved in the operation, apparently for fear of obtaining the Trump-related material." Only guesses that is the reason.
-
Also Pompeo is only mentioned as the head of the Agency. Nowhere does James Risen state he has any knowledge of Pompeo's thought processes or level of involvement in the operation.
End of conversation
New conversation -
-
-
While we don't know what the sources' motivations actually were, an essential truth is that there were indeed "motivations" behind the sources of both the
@theintercept &@nytimes pieces. The sources wanted the story told.https://twitter.com/LemonSlayerUS/status/962175710059220993 … -
It seems NYT had more forthcoming USG sources, incl copies of material US got from Russian intermediary. Do we really have to wonder tho whether or why USG would trust NYT over Intercept with more details & thus tone of eventual story published v Intercept's?
-
Again, hard to actually discern what the motivations actually are, but surely motivations were involved.
-
I'm also saying here that source motivation in the USIC is not monolithic.
End of conversation
New conversation -
Loading seems to be taking a while.
Twitter may be over capacity or experiencing a momentary hiccup. Try again or visit Twitter Status for more information.