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Media Attacks Trump For Foreign Oppo Comment, Downplays Origins Of Dossier

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Amber Athey Podcast Columnist
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The media is blasting President Donald Trump for saying he might accept foreign opposition research on his political foes. They also downplayed the fact that former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton paid for such information.

Trump told ABC’s George Stephanopoulos in an interview released Wednesday that he would consider listening if a foreign entity offered him dirt on a political opponent. If there appeared to be wrongdoing, Trump added, he would call the FBI to report the information. (RELATED: Trump: ‘I Think I’d Take Oppo Dirt From Foreign Entities)

CNN anchor Anderson Cooper claimed Wednesday night that Republicans would brand the president a “traitor” for such comments if he were a Democrat.

“If any other president had said anything resembling this, you know, Republicans in Congress would have, understandably, you know, called him a traitor,” Cooper asserted.

CNN national security analyst Susan Hennessey claimed accepting dirt from foreigners is a “criminal violation,” while CNN senior justice correspondent Evan Perez called Trump’s comments “stunning.”

None of the commentators or anchors pointed out that former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was involved in funding opposition research conducted by a foreign national that relied on foreign sources.

The Clinton campaign, along with the Democratic National Committee (DNC), paid Fusion GPS during the 2016 election to compile opposition research on then-candidate Trump. Fusion GPS contracted with former British spy Christopher Steele to create a dossier, who admitted many of his sources were Russian nationals.

The Washington Examiner’s Byron York pointed out, “In Steele’s words, sources were: A: senior Russian Foreign Ministry figure; B: former top level Russian intelligence officer still active inside the Kremlin; C: senior Russian financial official; and G: senior Kremlin official.”

CNN anchor Chris Cuomo, when confronted with this parallel by pro-Trump commentator Rob Astorino, however, claimed there is no “proof” that Clinton ever paid for information from foreign sources.

During a segment on Thursday morning, CNN reporter Manu Raju attempted to explain why the dossier is “not entirely synonymous” and “much different,” stating, “Steele was hired … Steele himself went to the FBI to discuss what he was learning.” (RELATED: Here’s How The Steele Dossier Spread Through The Media And The Government)

The dossier was also disseminated to the media, who reported on the information using the hook that it had been presented to the FBI.

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