TUCKER CARLSON, FOX NEWS: What happens when you can no longer denounce your political opponents as Russian spies? You call them “white nationalists” instead. It’s every bit as stupid and slanderous, and even more effective in shutting them up. But what does it do the country when you whip up hatred and fear like that? We’ll tell you, just ahead.
But first tonight, attorney general William Barr has finally confirmed what has been obvious for months: The Obama administration spied on Donald Trump’s presidential campaign. Nothing like this has happened in modern American history. Barr dropped the news almost in passing, during testimony before Congress this morning:
BARR: I think spying on a political campaign is a big deal, a big deal.
SHAHEEN: So you are not suggesting though that spying occurred?
BARR: Well, I guess — I think spying did occur. Yes, I think spying did occur. … I am not suggesting that it wasn’t adequately predicated but I need to explore that.
There’s no disputing Barr’s first point: Spying on a presidential campaign is a big deal, especially when it was authorized by a rival administration. Imagine if, a year from now, the Trump administration allowed the FBI to surveil officials in the Kamala Harris for president campaign. Imagine if, when caught, Trump pointed to opposition research generated by the RNC as justification for that surveillance. How would the media react to that? Like it was a major, jaw-dropping scandal. And this show would heartily agree. We wouldn’t defend it. Law enforcement should never be used as a partisan political tool, no matter who it benefits.
But the media doesn’t feel that way about Obama’s spying. They refuse to admit it was even spying. Professional dumb person, Jennifer Rubin of the Washington Post, attacked the attorney general for daring to bring up the topic at all. She called Barr “Trump’s toad.” CNN,…
