RUSSIA COLLUSION: The Hoax That Was Really a Coup with Hans Mahncke | Episode 23

Lara Logan
02:24:43 Summary & quotes Report Issue
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About this episode Hunts Mankey details a coordinated conspiracy involving the Clinton campaign, media outlets, and intelligence … AI summary

Hunts Mankey details a coordinated conspiracy involving the Clinton campaign, media outlets, and intelligence agencies to fabricate the Russia collusion narrative, arguing that this deception was designed to delegitimize Donald Trump and subvert the 2016 election. The discussion highlights specific instances of media collusion, such as the Christopher Steele dossier being pushed by journalists who knew it was paid opposition research, and the FBI's use of falsified evidence in FISA warrants. Mankey emphasizes that the lack of accountability for these actors has allowed a 'deep state' network to continue undermining presidential authority and democratic processes.

Key takeaways 6
  • The Christopher Steele dossier was paid opposition research commissioned by the Clinton campaign; journalists at outlets like CNN and The Washington Post knew Steele was a Clinton operative during the 2016 election but concealed this fact while treating the dossier as verified intelligence.
  • John Brennan, then CIA Director, intercepted communications in July 2016 revealing the Clinton campaign's plot to smear Trump with Russia collusion; rather than exposing it, Brennan created a 'fusion group' to advance the narrative and later attached the Steele dossier to a fraudulent Intelligence Community Assessment claiming Putin elected Trump.
  • The FBI structure involved a coordinated effort where low-level agents like Kevin Kleinmith falsified evidence for FISA warrants against Carter Page, protected by leadership including James Comey and Andrew McCabe, who ensured compliance through a toxic, anti-Trump institutional culture.
  • Media outlets like ABC News colluded with the Clinton campaign in real-time; for example, ABC aired a clip of Sergey Millian that was immediately repurposed by the Clinton campaign for political ads within an hour, demonstrating pre-arranged coordination.
  • The 'Alpha Bank' hoax regarding secret Trump-Putin communications was driven by Jake Sullivan, who publicly promoted false claims about computer science evidence linking Trump to Russian infrastructure before it was debunked.
  • Judicial corruption is exemplified by Judge James Boasberg, who presided over the lenient sentencing of FBI lawyer Kevin Kleinmith for falsifying FISA evidence and later actively sabotaged Trump administration policies, including immigration rulings.
Notable quotes 5 AI-generated: wording and quote attribution may be wrong. Use the play link to verify.
  • “They made up everything. ... The public didn't know that Steel... was a Clinton operative. He was a Clinton paid operative. ... The media knew that Christopher Steel was a Clinton operative the whole time. They knew it during the 2016 election campaign.”
    ▶ 2:19 Mankey explains that the core deception was not just fake news, but a deliberate concealment of the source's political affiliation by media outlets.
  • “The Clinton campaign paraded Chris... into various news offices. They took him to the Washington Post and sat him down inside the Washington Post's office and said, 'Oh, here's Christopher Steel. He's going to tell you about Russia collusion.'”
    ▶ 4:56 Describes the direct coordination between the Clinton campaign and major media outlets to introduce the Steele dossier.
  • “Brennan's CIA... intercepted a communication involving a Clinton campaign foreign policy adviser... Sullivan talked about Clinton's plot to smear Trump with Russia collusion. ... Instead of publishing it or doing something with it... he doubled down to cover it up and to push it himself.”
    Highlights John Brennan's active role in suppressing evidence of the hoax and instead amplifying it.
  • “ABC News tricked this man, Sergey Millian, into coming into their New York studio... out of that one or one and a half hour interview, they picked out one or two things... George Stephanopoulos aired those sound bites when the Clinton campaign needed them. And on the exact same day... the Clinton campaign was pushing those sound bites in an ad.”
    ▶ 16:34 Provides concrete evidence of real-time coordination between ABC News and the Clinton campaign.
  • “It's an undeclared covert war to overthrow the system of government that's in the United States in favor of another system. ... The issue is not that the president doesn't have the power. The issue is the president doesn't use the power.”
    Mankey's assessment of the structural threat posed by institutional corruption and his view on presidential authority.

Chapters & Sections (102)

0:00 Conspiracy Theories and Institutional Corruption chapter 3
0:00 Conspiracy Theories and Institutional Corruption
2:26 Trump Supporters and Media Bias Exposed
3:53 Journalism Integrity and Bias Discussion
5:31 Media's Handling of Clinton Operative Dossier chapter 3
5:31 Media's Handling of Clinton Operative Dossier
7:57 Trump Sues for Revoked Awards and Honors
9:22 Media Complicity in Election Interference Allegations
10:50 Hillary Clinton Campaign Tactics Exposed chapter 2
10:50 Patriot Mobile Wireless Service Promotion
12:08 Media Collusion with Clinton Campaign Exposed
14:55 Trump Campaign Collusion with Clinton chapter 3
14:55 Trump Campaign Collusion with Clinton
16:22 Clinton Operatives Use Deception to Influence Election
17:38 Media Institution Undermined by Journalistic Misconduct
18:54 Loss of Credibility and Media Bias chapter 3
18:54 Credibility and Media Bias Discussion
20:16 Conspiracy and Media Manipulation Tactics
21:46 FBI Source Smear Story Exposed by Investigative Group
23:05 FBI Involvement in Russia Collusion Scandal chapter 2
23:05 FBI Involvement in Russia Collusion Scandal
24:54 Urgent Call to Donate to Persecuted Christians
27:40 Clinton Campaign Hoax and Steele Dossier chapter 5
27:40 Discussion of the Steele Dossier and its Origins
29:35 Fake News Story Detection and Analysis
30:56 Author's Changing Perception of Donald Trump
32:19 Implications of Trump's Reelection
34:35 FBI Corruption and Danchenko's False Testimony
36:33 Media Manipulation and Fake News Stories chapter 3
36:33 Media Manipulation and False Narratives
38:13 Clinton Campaign Story Fabrication Exposed
39:32 Low Testosterone and Population Decline
40:59 Clinton Campaign's Russia Gate Hoax Exposed chapter 3
40:59 Clinton Campaign's Russia Gate Hoax Exposed
43:44 Obama's Involvement in Russia Collusion Hoax
46:46 Clinton Campaign Smears Trump with False Server Claims
49:13 Slate Article and IT Executives' Reaction chapter 3
49:13 Slate Article and Crimeware Group Discussion
51:18 Invalidating Election and Damaging Institutions
52:53 Criticism of Globalist Factions and the Deep State
54:54 Russia Collusion Case Continues Under Biden chapter 2
54:54 Russia Collusion Case Continues Despite Fake Claims
56:58 Justice Department's Illegitimate Prosecution Tactics
1:00:27 Trump's Vice President Role in Flynn's Firing chapter 3
1:00:27 Trump's Vice President Role and Flynn's Firing
1:03:10 January 6th Incident and Media Bias
1:04:28 FBI Leadership's Confidence in Pence's Reaction
1:06:09 Frustration with Lack of Accountability chapter 4
1:06:09 Frustration with Lack of Accountability
1:07:55 Investigation Timeline and Accountability
1:09:11 FBI Lawyer's Role in FISA Court Scandal
1:10:24 FBI Agent Falsified Evidence to Target Trump
1:13:07 Judge's Inconsistent and Lenient Decisions Exposed chapter 2
1:13:07 Judge's Involvement in Immigration Decisions
1:15:52 Jake Sullivan's Involvement in Russia Collusion Hoax
1:18:26 Breaking Up Washington DC Monopoly chapter 3
1:18:26 Breaking Up Washington DC Monopoly
1:20:22 Deep State Continues to Operate Unchecked
1:21:54 Accountability for Trump Impeachment and Russia Hoax
1:23:19 Trump's Enemies Target Giuliani and Whistleblowers chapter 3
1:23:19 Trump's Enemies Target Giuliani and Whistleblowers
1:25:24 Russia Impeachment and Clinton Campaign Strategy
1:26:39 FBI Structure and Corruption Allegations
1:29:12 FBI Structure and Corruption Allegations chapter 3
1:29:12 FBI Corruption and Sabotage Allegations
1:30:32 FBI Handling of Secret Communications Channel
1:31:47 CIA Involvement in Trump Subversion
1:33:48 CIA's Involvement in Russia Collusion Narrative chapter 2
1:33:48 CIA's Involvement in Russia Collusion Narrative
1:36:02 CIA's Role in Russia Collusion Narrative
1:38:17 Trump Targeted by Democratic Establishment Strategy chapter 2
1:38:17 Trump Targeted by Democratic Establishment
1:40:37 Trump's Legitimacy Challenged Through Russia Collusion
1:42:47 Lawfare Groups Influencing Investigations and Elections chapter 2
1:42:47 Lawfare Groups Influencing Investigations and Elections
1:44:46 Criticism of Politicians and NGO Funding
1:47:10 Manipulation of Local Governments and Institutions chapter 3
1:47:10 Manipulation of Local Government Infrastructure
1:48:58 US Government Corruption and Power Dynamics
1:50:18 Government Growth and Loss of Presidential Control
1:52:14 Limitations of Cutting Government chapter 2
1:52:14 Government Cuts and Presidential Emergency Powers
1:54:46 Executive Power and System Overthrow
1:56:48 Courts vs. Trump Administration chapter 3
1:56:48 US Courts Damage Trump's Agenda
1:58:54 Prosecuting Corrupt Judges and Conspirators
2:00:14 US Ability to Win Wars Discussed
2:02:04 Difficulty in Holding Government Officials Accountable chapter 3
2:02:04 Difficulty in Holding Government Officials Accountable
2:04:33 Conspiracy Theories and Government Covert Warfare
2:06:09 Frustration with Government Response to COVID
2:07:36 Discussion of Hunts' Life Experiences chapter 2
2:07:36 Discussion about Hunts' Life Experiences
2:09:30 Iranian American Community in 80s Tehran
2:11:42 Travel and Education Experiences Discussed chapter 3
2:11:42 Travel and Academic Experience in Europe and Caribbean
2:13:16 Childhood Memories of South Africa
2:14:31 Author's Life and Trump's Rise to Power
2:17:55 Russia Collusion and Accountability Discussion chapter 3
2:17:55 Russia Collusion and Accountability Discussion
2:20:08 CIA Involvement and Lack of Transparency
2:21:30 Fusion GPS and the Russia Investigation

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