Journaliosts feign ignorance to play 'gotya'

Reporter tries to corner Kayleigh McEnany on crimes of 'Obamagate' — it fails spectacularly

'I'm really glad you asked because there hasn't been a lot of journalistic curiosity on this front'

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

 CHRIS ENLOE

White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany outlined the alleged crimes committed by the Obama administration in what is being called "Obamagate" on Friday when a reporter attempted to corner her on what exact crimes President Donald Trump alleges his predecessor's administration committed.

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Noting that McEnany is a lawyer, CBS News Radio correspondent Steven Portnoy, "Perhaps you can lay out the elements of this crime. What crimes were committed an in what way?"
McEnany responded by laying out in detail the alleged wrongdoing by the Obama administration:

I'm really glad you asked because there hasn't been a lot of journalistic curiosity on this front. Look, there were a number of questions raised by the actions of the Obama administration. The Steele dossier funded by the Democratic National Committee. Opposition political party to the president was used to obtain FISA warrants to listen in on conversations of people within the Trump campaign.

There was the unmasking the identity of Michael Flynn. And we know that in a January 5th meeting in the Oval Office with President Obama, Sally Yates from the Department of Justice learned about the unmasking, not from the Department of Justice or the FBI, she learned about it from President Obama and was stunned and could barely process what she was hearing at the time because she was stunned of his knowledge of that.

We know that there was a lot of wrongdoing in the case of Michael Flynn. The FBI notes, for instance, that said should "we get him to lie" as they pontificated their strategy. We know that the identity of this three-decade general was leaked to the press, a criminal leak to the press of his identity in violation of his Fourth Amendment rights.

In an attempt to corner McEnany, Portnoy shot back that she only specified one crime, that being the leak of Flynn's name to the media.
The retort did not go over well.
"But if you want to start going through wrongdoing in the [Obama] administration, happy to go through Andy McCabe leaking to the Wall Street Journal and then lying about it," McEnany responded. "Happy to talk about James Clapper lying before Congress saying the NSA does not monitor phone calls. That was an inaccuracy to say the least, if not a lie. John Brennan telling Congress that 'the bogus Steele Dossier played no role in the Russian probe,' when in fact we know it did and was the basis of obtaining FISA warrants."

McEnany indicated that many of those alleged mistruths were made under oath, implying those officials lied under oath, which is a crime.
"Perhaps you should look into it and give me some answers. That is, after all, the job of reporters, to answer the very questions that I've laid out and I hope you guys will take the time to do it," McEnany said.