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February 8, 2022
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Perhaps you’ve noticed that we almost never cite The New York Times or the Washington Post as sources for any story we use in my newsletter. And for any story that originated in either of those two publications, even if it happened to be picked up by other news outlets, we’ve applied the “48-hour rule” –- often it’s more like 72 hours –- before reacting to it as serious reporting. There have just been too many stories that turned out to be strategic leaks from the FBI or similarly dicey anonymous sources or that were garbage reported simply because they furthered a preferred narrative.

There’s another reason why these big-deal “papers of record” should not be mistaken for serious journalism, and that’s the hotbed of connections to Democrat politics and administrations they are. One example in the news right now is the promotion of Matea Gold to be the new national editor at WAPO. A month before her promotion, her husband Jonathan Lenzner was promoted as well –- to be the new FBI chief of staff.

https://www.realclearinvestigations.com/articles/2022/02/01/new_washington_post_national_editor_recuses_herself_from_fbi_coverage_814615.html

Gold is now having to recuse herself from all coverage of the FBI and the Justice Department, including the Durham special counsel investigation, with managing editor Steven Ginsberg overseeing it instead. She also won’t be covering the ongoing January 6 investigation, including the probe led by FBI Director Christopher Wray and Attorney General Merrick Garland. Gosh, what’s left for her to oversee? It’s easy to imagine her taking lots of long lunches and leisurely massages, with Ginsberg doing the work and probably deserving a raise.

According to Paul Sperry’s sources, the conflict of interest posed by Gold’s husband was discussed at a recent staff-wide meeting. Lenzner’s family is “allied politically with the Clintons” and has been for many years. This seems not to have been a problem before –- and why should it be at WAPO? –- but with his new job at the FBI, the spotlight is shining more brightly.

The decision does not reflect on Gold’s objectivity or credibility, according to a WAPO spokesperson. “We have every confidence in Matea’s professionalism and high standards. “She has recused herself from all areas of coverage to avoid even the appearance of partiality.”

So, there was a conflict of interest and she recused herself. Problem solved, right? Well, not so fast. As Paul Sperry points out, considerable damage had already been done. “In her previous role as investigations editor,” he writes, “Gold helped oversee the Post’s coverage of the Russian ‘collusion’ accusations against Trump and his advisers, including former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn.”

In other words, she might be recusing herself now that her personal conflict of interest has grown too huge to ignore, but she’s spent years helping perpetuate the Russia Hoax.

Reading WAPO’s own story about Gold’s promotion, one would never know that they’ve had to retract or correct numerous stories about Trump that she oversaw. “For the last four years,” it reads, “Matea has served as the national political enterprise and investigations editor, running some of the Post’s most sensitive stories, including coverage of the Russia investigation, the Ukraine pressure campaign and President Donald Trump’s attempt to subvert the 2020 election results. Reporters and other editors gravitate to Matea for guidance and direction.”

In September 2017, Gold shared a byline on a story that furthered the false claim that President Trump has said there were “fine people” among the white supremacists and neo-Nazis protesting the removal of a statue of Gen. Robert E. Lee in Charlottesville, when he specifically condemned those people.

So, never mind the frequent and serious journalistic errors and outright lies. This editor gets promoted. And other "journalists" look to her for guidance.

As Sperry points out, it’s “not uncommon” –- we’d say it’s actually very common –- for journalists in DC “to be married to government officials, lobbyists and others who influence policy from various vantage points.” But even in that world, Gold’s might be considered an extreme case.

Perhaps you’re old enough to remember the name Terry Lenzner, who was the private investigator Bill Clinton hired to use to dig up dirt on troublesome mistresses and other political threats. It was said at the time that this was done with the knowledge and approval of Hillary, to tamp down the various “bimbo eruptions.” Lenzner founded the firm Investigative Firm International, or IGI. During the Ken Starr investigation, he was brought in to testify about his aggressive investigative work for President Clinton. Terry Lenzner retired in 2015 and has since passed away.

Matea Gold’s husband Jon is the son of Terry Lenzner. After Terry retired, he took over IGI and continued his father’s work. Father and son were both Democrats and Clinton donors, with Jon giving at least $1,700 to Hillary’s 2016 campaign according to FEC records.

So, THIS is the guy Christopher Wray appointed as his chief of staff in December. Goodness, we’re not only learning a lot today about WAPO, but also about Wray’s FBI. And none of it is good.

The FBI made this appointment quietly, avoiding mention of Lenzner’s background with the Clintons or IGI. On their website, they distanced him from it this way: “From 2013 to 2018, Mr. Lenzner led a national risk advisory, corporate investigations and crisis management firm in Washington, including three years as its CEO.”

Recall that other FBI officials were highly sympathetic to Hillary and the Clinton political machine, even those who were supposed to be investigating her such as then-deputy Director Andrew McCabe. Then-Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, another Clinton crony, generously bankrolled McCabe’s wife in her failed run for the Virginia state legislature. Political conflicts seem to be quite common at the FBI, too.

Sperry reports an interesting side note: IGI was the first investigation firm to launder payments for “opposition research” (dirt) for political campaigns through law firms so that no payments to IGI showed up on FEC disclosures. They did this at least as far back as 1994, for Ted Kennedy. So Hillary was acting in a grand Democrat tradition when she funneled over $1 million to Perkins Coie for the dirt-digging done by Fusion GPS and Christopher Steele.

IGI has multiple connections to the Clintons. Jon’s sister Emily is a Biden donor who sits on IGI’s board. She previously worked in the Clinton White House under George Stephanopoulos and later worked for him at ABC News. (More incest with journalism.)

The late Brooke Shearer, sister of Clinton crony Cody Shearer, worked for Hillary in the White House and then took an investigative job at IGI. (Makes one wonder what sort of work she did for Hillary.) Brooke was also the wife of Clinton ally Strobe Talbott of the Brookings Institution, which seems to have been up to its eyeballs in the creation and peddling of the Steele “dossier.” Cody Shearer even created his own anti-Trump “dossier.”

Sperry’s piece has even more. One bit of irony is that Gold, with her amazing conflicts of interest that are only now coming to light, participated in a PBS panel on the White House transition in 2016. It was called “Trump Family Criticized for Conflicts of Interest.”

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Comments 1-10 of 28

  • Linda Strickland

    02/10/2022 06:09 AM

    Thank you so much for your clear reporting and unwavering consistency that God is our refuge and hope!! Your calm but detailed information is helpful. God bless you. In His grip, Linda

  • Sherri Hall

    02/09/2022 11:04 PM

    Could ling articles be summarized or just bullet points?
    Thank you for all you do!

  • Marjorie Higginbotham

    02/09/2022 12:58 PM

    I’m seriously considering unsubscribing to your posts. I have been following you for years and supported you when you ran for President. I feel like recently, even though you post the truth, your posts are getting longer, more drawn out, and more complicated. I looked forward to your daily, uplifting Bible verses. However even those have gotten more complicated.

  • Cheryl Rooker

    02/09/2022 12:09 PM

    Everyone needs to read this Fantastic article re FAKE NEWS. The connections between Media, FBI, Democrats, Clintons are Exposed. These recent "promotions"/positioning of Gold and Lenzner will be damaging and devastating for Conservatives in 2022 & 2024. Republicans/GOP must Reveal these 'enemies from within' to the Nation/Voters, otherwise we don't stand a chance against Democrats and their dirty tactics, and their "inside connections" and "plants". The Democrats definitely have an advantage. They're able to create/promote false narratives, and cover up & protect each other. Republicans have got to get tough and start fighting.
    Thank you for sharing this information. I know I'll never see this kind of honest reporting on the "news". Thank you for being unafraid, and for being a trusted leader. Together, I pray we can save America.

  • Michael Moody

    02/09/2022 11:18 AM

    Dear Mike: This may be repetitive but I think it is important that someone pay attention to Henry Cuellar and write about it.

    Henry Cuellar is a true moderate Democratic Congressman who is strong on the border. He was recently paid an overnight visit by the FBI regarding a questioned reimbursement on an overseas trip that occurred six years ago. I think it is a matter beyond the statute of limitations, is not really an FBI matter and is a weak case. If the expenditure is disputed, there are other ways to settle such matters besides calling in the FBI. The critical point is that AOC endorsed his opponent the day after the night the FBI went into the Congressman’s office. Coincidence? Maybe. But if someone leaked news of the special review by the FBI to her, even Pelosi might have some heartburn over that. If there was any evidence of such, Congressman Cuellar, who is an attorney, would have recourse. I am hoping you will have someone on your staff do some checking.

  • Katherine Richardson

    02/09/2022 04:59 AM

    This reports reads like a summary of a spy novel come true.

  • Linda LuGene Williams

    02/08/2022 11:13 PM

    PLEASE take down that picture of the "pregnant man". It's bad enough to see trash like that other places.

  • Carol Hughes

    02/08/2022 11:00 PM

    Mike, you are amazing. Your summaries are so clear and I can hear the irony in your voice. Thank you very much.

  • R Reedy

    02/08/2022 09:20 PM

    More new, fair media competition will render fake news irrelevant.

  • Dana Vincent

    02/08/2022 09:10 PM

    This doesn't surprise me at all. The left is so hypocritical that it's actually getting funnier with each statement they come out with. From, "I didn't inhale." , "I was set up at the hair dressers", "I held my breath while they took the photograph." to "You can keep your doctor."...It's hilarious if you think about it. Every time I hear a politician from the left say anything and I mean anything I always reverse it. So if they say The Republicans are doing this....it really means that they are doing it.. Been proven time and time again. Unfortunately, the way things are now, I'm starting to believe we're fighting a losing battle. We're losing our country to the Marxist, Liberals, Socialists, communists, what ever you want to call them. They're in our schools, our school boards, our DA's, our mayors, our governors, our senators, our representatives, our press, the TV networks, the president, the Supreme Court, our Big Tech, our universities and colleges....everywhere. I'm kind of glad I won't be alive too many more years so I won't have to live in such a country as what they are changing it to. I feel sorry for my children and grandchildren, though. Only problem...they won't know the difference.