Back in October 2020, Politico published an article incorrectly claiming the New York Post story on Hunter Biden was Russian disinformation. Turns out Natasha Bertrand, who wrote the article, gaslighted the public even though she knew the Post story was completely true.
Cliff Sims, then the deputy director of national intelligence (DNI), revealed that Bertrand reached out to him for comment before publishing her propaganda story. He told her the Post story was not disinformation.
He then pointed her to then-Director of National Intelligence (DNI) John Ratcliffe’s comments refuting far-left California Congressman Adam Schiff’s claims of Russian propaganda.
But Bertrand ran the article anyway. From Breitbart:
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Bertrand, a reporter for Politico at the time, approached then-deputy DNI Sims on October 19, 2020, regarding an article she was writing about 50 former information officials claiming Hunter’s laptop was Russian disinformation. Breitbart News’s Emma-Jo Morris had a few days earlier broken the “Laptop from Hell” story, which big tech censored, in the New York Post.
Sims told Bertrand before the publication of the Politico story that the “Laptop from Hell” was not Russian disinformation, citing then-Director of National Intelligence (DNI) John Ratcliffe.
Despite Sims’ warning, Bertrand wrote the story anyway and gave the Democrats the headline they wanted, Sims stated.
On October 16, a few days before Bertrand approached Sims, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) falsely claimed the New York Post’s “Laptop from Hell” story was a part of a Russian attempt to “smear” then-candidate Joe Biden. Ratcliffe had condemned Schiff’s false claim, and Sims relayed that to Bertrand as background for her now-debunked Politico story.
Here are Cliff Sims’s full remarks on the matter:
Despite Bertrand’s practice of yellow journalism, she suffered no career consequences. Instead she received a promotion to CNN, where she continues to utter prevarications.
Lies pay well as long you cover for Team Donkey!
Bertrand also previously championed the Clinton and DNC-funded Steele Dossier. The infamous document contained information so preposterous that even liberal journalists like Bob Woodward and Chuck Todd lambasted it. Yet she eventually parlayed her credulous reporting into an MSNBC gig because the rest of the corporate media agreed with her.
Trump caught incredible heat when he tweeted the fake news media was the enemy of the people. But disingenuous reporters like Bertrand have proven him correct time and again.