It was a scandal when the media learned President Lyndon B. Johnson used the FBI to spy on the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and attempt to disrupt his campaign for equal rights for blacks.
President Nixon’s attempts to spy on Democrats during his re-election campaign in 1972 ultimately resulted in his impeachment and resignation. You may have heard of that incident, popularly known as "Watergate," after the site of the burglary, the Watergate building in Washington, D.C.
In both of the foregoing instances the news media conducted a months-long campaign to get to the bottom of the scandal. A campaign that was met with government obstruction of justice, foot–dragging, lies and cover-ups.
In spite of it all, the effort was ultimately successful.
Now Elizabeth Vaughn reports that in response to a Freedom of Information request the FBI has admitted to using multiple, confidential spies inserted into the campaign of a presidential candidate. Even J. Edgar Hoover didn’t stoop to that. One of these spies was paid nearly $500,000 for his work.
The FBI then used the spies it planted in the campaign, along with unverified "opposition research" from the campaign’s opponent, as a pretext to apply for a warrant to wiretap the phones and electronic communication of the campaign it was targeting.
By any scale imaginable (and certainly in comparison with the Dr. King and Watergate outrages) when the premier federal law enforcement agency decides to spy on the presidential campaign of the lawfully determined candidate, of the political party currently out of power, without any legitimate reason — that spy campaign is a scandal.
It’s mind–boggling that instead of pouncing on the facts of the spying and abuse of government power, the media is obsessed with the fraudulent "research" blaming the opposition candidate for imaginary offenses.
How can this be?
It’s because moral corruption that infected the highest level of the FBI is also shared by the dominant legacy media. They believe there are people who are simply above the law because of their political views, and there are people who are presumed guilty for the same reason.
Dr. King was a hero to the media, and rightly so. He did not deserve the illegal spying campaign designed to destroy his character. King’s antagonist, then-FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover, and to a certain extent LBJ, were disliked by the media and savaged as a result by a pack media rampage.
The press loathed President Nixon and Watergate giving reporters the excuse to drop the gloves and go after him until he was forced from office.
And what about the third example? The scandal that must not be named?
The in this instance is President Trump. He is hated even more than Nixon was by the opposition media, which has dropped all pretense of objectivity when covering his presidency.
Even worse from an opposition media standpoint, taking Trump’s side means investigating President Obama, the hero of the revolution — and his national security apparatus.
Because the opposition media no longer believes in an impartial rule of law, the rules have been thrown out. This egregious violation of both the intent and the letter of the law is ignored by all but a few honorable reporters.
Instead a phantom "Russia collusion" witch-hunt run by Robert Mueller gets slavish coverage.
There will be a price to be paid if the FBI and the rest of the national security state gets away with this. The opposition media may think they and the left will soon be back in charge permanently, because the arc of history bends toward Medicare for all, but that’s not a foregone conclusion.
Getting away with malfeasance in one administration has a tendency to be followed by subsequent administrations. And tools used against external enemies are easily turned against internal political enemies.
And that may include the media.
Michael Reagan, the eldest son of President Reagan, is a Newsmax TV analyst. A syndicated columnist and author, he chairs The Reagan Legacy Foundation. Michael is an in-demand speaker with Premiere speaker’s bureau. Read more reports from Michael Reagan — Go Here Now.
Michael R. Shannon is a commentator, researcher for the League of American Voters, and an award-winning political and advertising consultant with nationwide and international experience. He is author of "Conservative Christian’s Guidebook for Living in Secular Times (Now with added humor!)." Read more of Michael Shannon's reports — Go Here Now.