AP Reporter Battles State Department Spox on Russia ‘False Flag’ Claims

Sparks flew during a Thursday press briefing at the State Department where Associated Press diplomatic writer Matt Lee verbally duked it out with spokesperson Ned Price over accusation the U.S. was making suggesting Russia was planning “false flag” operations in Ukraine; complete with propaganda videos and detailing specific scenes.

But as the confrontation progressed, Price accused Lee of seeking “solace” in Russian propaganda and chastised him for not trusting the U.S. government. Lee shot back by recalling “WMDs in Iraq” and the promise “Kabul was not going to fall” to the Taliban and saying Price sounded like conspiracy theorist Alex Jones.

“So you said ‘actions such as these suggest otherwise’ – suggest meaning that they suggest they’re not interested in talks and they’re going to go ahead with some kind of a – what action are you talking about,” Lee asked once Price opened the floor to questions.

Price proceeded to make his protracted circular argument that Russia allegedly had already taken “actions” but wouldn’t say exactly what those actions were except to say that they were in a “report” released by the State Department (click “expand”):

PRICE: One, the actions I have just pointed to, the fact –

LEE: Which action? What —

PRICE: Russia’s continued disinformation campaign.

LEE: Well no, you’ve made an allegation that they might do that. Are they really able to do it?

PRICE: What we know, Matt, is what we – what I have just said, that they have engaged in this activity, in this planning activity —

LEE: Well, engage in what – hold on a second. Is that the right activity?!

PRICE: But let me – let me – because obviously this is not – this is not the first time we’ve made these reports public. You’ll remember that just a few weeks ago –

LEE: I’m sorry, made what report public?

PRICE

LEE: Okay.

PRICE To answer your question Matt, that is an act Russia has taken.

Lee immediately pointed out the fact that the alleged “action” was something “You claim that they took, but have not provided any evidence.” And as he grew increasingly frustrated, Lee pointed out how there was no presentation or laying out of the evidence to justify the claims as we face the possibility of WWIII.

“I mean, this is – like, crisis actors? Really? This is like Alex Jones territory you’re getting into now,” Lee huffed, demanding hard proof. “Which evidence does it support that there’s a propaganda movie in production?”

WATCH: The heated exchange between @APDiploWriterMatt Lee @StateDeptSpoxNed Price does not disclose declassified information. pic.twitter.com/8TFJdSW4M6

— CSPAN (@cspan) February 3, 2022

Price then made the ludicrous argument that his briefing constituted the release of the declassified “report” he was prefacing above (Click “expand”):

LEE: Ok, that’s fine. This information is where?

PRICE: This is intelligence data that we have declassified.

LEE: It’s there. LEE: Where’s the classified information?

PRICE: It was just delivered.

LEE: No, you made a series of allegations and statements —

PRICE: Do you want us to make the toppers? This briefing will be available in a transcript that you can download.

LEE: But that’s not evidence, Ned. That’s you saying it. That’s not evidence. I’m sorry.

As Price tried to use Lee’s decades of experience to suggest he should know better than to pose questions like these or behave this way, Lee shot back with previous lies the U.S. government fed its citizens. “That’s right. Yes, I do remember WMDs in Iraq. And that Kabul would not fall. There are many things I can recall.,” he said.

As the argument continued, Price took to mocking Lee for not believing in the almighty power of the U.S. government and not understanding how the art of military “deterrence” worked (Click “expand”):

PRICE: I’m sorry you are doubting the information that is in the possession of the U.S. government.

LEE: No, I —

PRICE: What I’m telling you is that this is information that’s available to us. We are making it available to you in order – for a couple reasons.

To deter Russia from continuing with their activities. Two, in the event we’re not able to do that, in the event the Russians do go ahead with this, to make it clear as day, to lay bare the fact that this has always been an attempt on the part of the Russian Federation to fabricate a pretext.

“Yes, but you don’t have any evidence to back it up other than what you’re saying,” Lee shot back. “It’s like you’re saying, ‘We think – we have information the Russians may do this,’ but you won’t tell us what the information is.”

The next flimsy argument Price proposed was to say that his briefing was designed to stymie those unspecified actions by Russia, but “If the Russians don’t go forward with this, that is not ipso facto an indication that they never had plans to do so.”

“But then it’s unprovable,” Lee expertly deduced. “You mean to say, my God! What evidence do you have suggesting that Russia is even considering this plan?”

Obviously fed up with Lee’s tough questions, Price accused Lee of essentially siding with the Russians:

PRICE: If you doubt – if you doubt the credibility of the U.S. government, of the British government, of other governments, and want to, you know, find solace in information that the Russians are putting out —

LEE: Solace?

PRICE: — that is for you to do.

“I’m not asking what the Russian Government is putting out. And … what is that supposed to mean,” Lee asked as Price moved on to another reporter.

Price rises later in the day a tweet commending their “sparring sessions” and Lee’s intelligence. “Clearly, he’s no one’s dupe, and I’d never want to suggest otherwise,” he wrote. “Nothing but respect for him, which I underscored in a call to him after the briefing.”

It is a well-known @APDiploWriterWe have both had our share of sparring sessions and I can attest to that. Clearly, he’s no one’s dupe, and I’d never want to suggest otherwise. There is nothing more than respect for him. I reiterated this by calling him afterwards.

— Ned Price (@StateDeptSpox) February 3, 2022

Below is the transcript. Click “expand to read:

C-SPAN State Department Press Note
February 3, 2022

(…)

MATT LEE: Thank you. Okay, well, that’s quite a mouthful there. So you said “actions such as these suggest otherwise” – suggest meaning that they suggest they’re not interested in talks and they’re going to go ahead with some kind of a – what action are you talking about?

NED PRICE: One, the actions I have just pointed to, the fact –

LEE: Which action? What —

PRICE: Russia’s continued disinformation campaign.

LEE: Well no, you’ve made an allegation that they might do that. Are they really able to do it?

PRICE: What we know, Matt, is what we – what I have just said, that they have engaged in this activity, in this planning activity —

LEE: Well, engage in what – hold on a second. Is that the right activity?!

PRICE: But let me – let me – because obviously this is not – this is not the first time we’ve made these reports public. You’ll remember that just a few weeks ago –

LEE: I’m sorry, made what report public?

PRICE

LEE: Okay.

PRICE To answer your question Matt, that is an act Russia has taken.

LEE: No, it’s an action that you say that they have taken, but you have shown no evidence to confirm that. And I’m going to get to the next question here, which is: What is the evidence that they – I mean, this is – like, crisis actors? Really? This is like Alex Jones territory you’re getting into now. How much evidence can you provide to prove that there’s a propaganda movie in production?

PRICE: Matt. This is from intelligence that we have obtained and which has been made available to the U.S government. I think you know —

LEE: Ok, that’s fine. This information is where?

PRICE: This is intelligence data that we have declassified.

LEE: It’s there. LEE: Where’s the classified information?

PRICE

LEE: No, you made a series of allegations and statements —

PRICE: Do you want us to make the toppers? This briefing will be available in a transcript that you can download.

LEE: But that’s not evidence, Ned. That’s you saying it. That’s not evidence. I’m sorry.

PRICE: Matt, what would you prefer?

LEE: I would like to see some proof that you – that you can show that —

PRICE: Matt, you have been —

LEE: — that shows that the Russians are doing this.

PRICE: You —

LEE: Ned, I’ve been doing this for a long time, as you know.

PRICE: That’s what I mean. This was the point. It’s been a long time since you did this.

LEE: Yes, I do.

PRICE

LEE: That’s right. And I remember WMDs in Iraq, and I —

PRICE: — we do so with an eye to protecting sources and methods.

LEE: I also remember Kabul not falling. Many things are still fresh in my mind. You are the only one who can declassify information.

PRICE: Matt, I’m sorry you don’t like the format, but we have —

LEE: It’s not the format. It’s the content.

PRICE: I’m sorry you don’t like the content. I’m sorry you —

LEE: It’s not that I don’t like it or —

PRICE: I’m sorry you are doubting the information that is in the possession of the U.S. government.

LEE: No, I —

PRICE: What I’m telling you is that this is information that’s available to us. We are making it available to you in order – for a couple reasons.

To deter Russia from continuing with their activities. Two, in the event we’re not able to do that, in the event the Russians do go ahead with this, to make it clear as day, to lay bare the fact that this has always been an attempt on the part of the Russian Federation to fabricate a pretext.

LEE: Yes, but you don’t have any evidence to back it up other than what you’re saying. It’s like you’re saying, “We think – we have information the Russians may do this,” but you won’t tell us what the information is. And then when you’re asked —

PRICE: That is deterrence’s idea, Matt. This is what deterrence is all about.

LEE: When you’re asked – and when you’re asked —

PRICE: It is our hope that the Russians don’t go forward with this.

LEE: And when you’re asked what the information is, you say, “I just gave it to you.” But that’s not what —

PRICE: You seem not to understand —

LEE: That’s not the way it works.

PRICE

LEE: No, no, no, Ned. You don’t – you seem not to understand the idea of —

PRICE: The Russians should be discouraged from engaging in this kind of activity. We are publishing it today because of that. If the Russians don’t go forward with this, that is not ipso facto an indication that they never had plans to do so.

LEE: But then it’s unprovable. LEE: But then it’s unprovable.

PRICE: Matt, you —

LEE: I mean, I’m not saying that they’re not. But you just come out and say this and expect us just to believe it without you showing a shred of evidence that it’s actually true – other than when I ask, or when anyone else asks, what’s the information, you said, “well, I just gave it to you,” which was just you making a statement.

PRICE: Matt, you said yourself you’ve been in this business for quite a long time. You know that when we make information – intelligence information public we do so in a way that protects sensitive sources and methods. You also know that we do so – we declassify information – only when we’re confident in that information.

LEE: But Ned, you haven’t given any information.

PRICE: If you doubt – if you doubt the credibility of the U.S. government, of the British government, of other governments, and want to, you know, find solace in information that the Russians are putting out —

LEE: Solace?

PRICE: — that is for you to do.

LEE: I don’t want – I’m not asking what the Russian Government is putting out. And what do you – what is that supposed to mean?

PRICE: Shaun.

(…)