Friday is In Real TimeBill Maher, the liberal HBO host, demonstrated that even though he recently displayed a moderate streak, and was often critical of fellow liberals on his show, he still needs to accept the fact that the Russia probe into Donald Trump’s campaign was an untrustworthy political hit job.
Former Rolling StoneAs a guest editor Matt Taibbi, Maher discussed his reaction to Durham’s investigation into wrongdoing. Maher also challenged Maher about his response to Trump’s recent reactions to it. The liberal host also challenged Taibbi for dismissing Democrats’ accusations of spying against Trump. Taibbi also made a comparison to WMD searches after the Iraq War.
Maher attempted to still give credence to the Steele dossier which had been used as the basis for the Trump investigation despite its inaccuracy. Taibbi mentioned this part of the investigation: “I believe the most significant aspect is that the Steele dossier contained such a large number of false stories.”
Maher said, “Well, but Steele got it right on two important things. … The two men were correct that Russia had been waging an extensive campaign to elect Trump before the election was even established. Another thing that he did right was WikiLeaks’ leak. I am referring to the fact that Democrats were “”
Taibbi, who is a notable political liberal, jumped in and corrected Trump.
It was written at the exact time that this information was becoming public. Even the FBI concluded that there was no original Steele dossier reporting that had actually been panned. Everything that actually was original to the Steele dossier, from Trump’s pee tape to Trump’s well-developed conspiracy over five years. It didn’t pan out.
The two were further enlightened when Maher mentioned WikiLeaks’ release of embarrassing emails taken from the DNC.
TAIBBI – No. The Roger Stone Indictment shows that this collusion theory is false. Even though it was very late, they tried to contact WikiLeaks. Roger Stone would not have reached out to WikiLeaks asking for help if there were indeed conspiracies between WikiLeaks Russia and Trump.
MAHER: It was no coincidence that these emails were published right after.
TAIBBI : Yes, that is true. But it’s quite different than discussing an espionage conspiracy in which, as you may know, Trump and Russia teamed up and planned to change an election. They can talk to WikiLeaks only if they believe they have a major story that will hurt Hillary Clinton.
Erik Wemple, a media critic from the Washington PostMaher was criticised for his adherence to the Steele dossier. But, to his credit, at least the HBO host had on a couple of guests who disagreed with him on the issue. That’s more than most of the more serious cable news outlets will do in the current environment in which political discussions have just become echo chambers of journalists and guests who mostly agree about the subjects they discuss.
When people are open to disagreeing and challenging one another it can lead to stronger arguments. If only such debate would spread to more shows, it might lead to a more informed public.
Below is the transcription
HBO Bill Maher: Real Time
October 1, 2021
MATTTAIBBI: What is more important? The Steele dossier contained a huge amount of fake news stories.
BILL MAHER : The Steele dossier has two crucial points. You can read more about it here. The two men were correct that Russia had been waging an extensive campaign to elect Trump before the election was even established. He also got the WikiLeaks leak right, which I take to mean that Democrats were —
TAIBBI, This was written at the exact time that this information was out. Even the FBI concluded that there was no original Steele dossier reporting that had actually been published. Everything that actually was original to the Steele dossier, from Trump’s pee tape to Trump’s well-developed conspiracy over five years. It didn’t pan out.
MAHER: The pee tape was tragic, I’m sorry.
TAIBBI
MAHER: It was an enormous story, because people make — clearly, people prefer to talk about the pee rather than about the budget. It’s both. Mueller confirmed that Roger Stone had been hacking. WikiLeaks requested the release of the Democratic email — the Podesta messages — shortly after the Hollywood Access tape was released. They did it in an hour. It happened within one day of Trump’s public statement, “Russian, if your listening, I hope that you can hack these emails.” This is not collusion.
TAIBBI, No. The Roger Stone Indictment shows that this collusion theory is false. Even though it was very late, they tried to contact WikiLeaks. Roger Stone wouldn’t have reached out to WikiLeaks and been told by WikiLeaks that there wasn’t a conspiracy among WikiLeaks and Russia.
MAHER: It was no coincidence that these emails were published right after.
TAIBBI : Yes, that is true. But it’s quite different than discussing an espionage conspiracy in which, as you may know, Trump and Russia teamed up and planned to change an election. They can talk to WikiLeaks only if they believe they have a major story that will hurt Hillary Clinton.
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