Free Beacon has dropped a bombshell this afternoon, quoting multiple sources in and out of the White House that say it was Obama loyalists, including Ben Rhodes, who targeted Flynn in a secret campaign to protect Obama’s Iran Deal:
The effort, said to include former Obama administration adviser Ben Rhodes—the architect of a separate White House effort to create what he described as a pro-Iran echo chamber—included a small task force of Obama loyalists who deluged media outlets with stories aimed at eroding Flynn’s credibility, multiple sources revealed.
The operation primarily focused on discrediting Flynn, an opponent of the Iran nuclear deal, in order to handicap the Trump administration’s efforts to disclose secret details of the nuclear deal with Iran that had been long hidden by the Obama administration.
Insiders familiar with the anti-Flynn campaign told the Free Beacon that these Obama loyalists plotted in the months before Trump’s inauguration to establish a set of roadblocks before Trump’s national security team, which includes several prominent opponents of diplomacy with Iran. The Free Beacon first reported on this effort in January.
Sources who spoke to the Free Beacon requested anonymity in order to speak freely about the situation and avoid interfering with the White House’s official narrative about Flynn, which centers on his failure to adequately inform the president about a series of phone calls with Russian officials.
Flynn took credit for his missteps regarding these phone calls in a brief statement released late Monday evening. Trump administration officials subsequently stated that Flynn’s efforts to mislead the president and vice president about his contacts with Russia could not be tolerated.
However, multiple sources closely involved in the situation pointed to a larger, more secretive campaign aimed at discrediting Flynn and undermining the Trump White House.
“It’s undeniable that the campaign to discredit Flynn was well underway before Inauguration Day, with a very troublesome and politicized series of leaks designed to undermine him,” said one veteran national security adviser with close ties to the White House team. “This pattern reminds me of the lead up to the Iran deal, and probably features the same cast of characters.”
There’s more here if you want to read it.
So not only do we have a media who hates Trump, but we’ve got former Obama officials working with them in tandem to target Flynn and whoever else they believe will help them protect Obama’s horrible Iran deal.
Trump and his team need to figure out how to get his proverbial house in order quick. Otherwise it’s going to be a tumultuous first year for him.
Here’s a few responses from Twitter:
Russia was the pretext (and not a particularly believable one). Protecting Iran was always the main goal. https://t.co/RhMsYLsOf8
— Sean Davis (@seanmdav) February 14, 2017
I mean, he still misled the VP. But if this is true, Trump should replace Flynn with an anti-Iran deal hardliner. https://t.co/bAG4xlJxPO
— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) February 14, 2017
@TheChrisSuprun Don't like Flynn. Glad he is gone. But the process that led to his ouster, including these leaks, is bad.
— Erick Erickson (@EWErickson) February 14, 2017
UPDATE: Good stuff:
2/8 Flynn was brought down by a disinformation campaign orchestrated by unelected, anonymous members of the surveillance state.
— Damon Linker (@DamonLinker) February 14, 2017
3/8 @EliLake is right to call this police-state tactics. https://t.co/ybjyVlnNv2
— Damon Linker (@DamonLinker) February 14, 2017
4/8 Now the Free Beacon reports a key player in promulgating the story re Flynn was @brhodes https://t.co/IwCilZYFuE
— Damon Linker (@DamonLinker) February 14, 2017
5/8 Rhodes isn't just a former Obama staffer.
— Damon Linker (@DamonLinker) February 14, 2017
6/8 You'll recall from David Samuels blockbuster NYT Mag profile last May, Rhodes is someone who excels at manipulating the media.
— Damon Linker (@DamonLinker) February 14, 2017
7/8 Message to media: You're being played—turning yourself into what Bannon insists you are: an opposition party deploying weaponized spin.
— Damon Linker (@DamonLinker) February 14, 2017
8/8 Worse, you’re working to destroy reputations w clandestinely acquired information peddled by people hiding behind a cloak of anonymity.
— Damon Linker (@DamonLinker) February 14, 2017