The Michael Flynn Case: A Revisit of Bad Journalism Habits

The latest developments in the Michael Flynn case raise concerns about the consistency of journalistic conventions that often lend credence to baseless narratives and reward bad-faith actors. News accounts frequently claim that new information "boosts" or "lends ammunition" to a particular attack, or "raises new questions" about its target, without a basis in fact. These conventions are pernicious and amplify a misleading tendency in readers. This phenomenon occurred widely in 2016 to President Trump's benefit, and it's now happening again. Republican senators have released a declassified list of Obama administration officials, including Trump opponent Joe Biden, who requested information that "unmasked" Flynn during the transition.

Key Takeaways:

• Trump and his campaign are seizing on the declassified list to further their claim that the Russia investigation was corrupt, and that Biden was key to that. However, this claim is nonsensical.
• News accounts are reporting on this in purportedly objective ways, but their formulations subtly place an editorial thumb on the scale in favor of those attacks.
• The information actually does not "boost" Trump's claims about the Russia investigation or "discredit" it. If there is "no evidence of wrongdoing," then it cannot be "turned into an election issue."
• Government rules permit recipients of NSA reports to request unmasking if the identity is necessary to understand the information, and this process is routine, with over 10,000 unmasking requests in 2019 and nearly 17,000 in 2018.
• The Obama administration officials listed, including Biden, were likely seeking to understand intelligence reports about Flynn's conversations with the Russian ambassador.
• The information does not undermine the validity of the Russia investigation itself or its conclusions about Trump's involvement.

Statistics:

• 10,000: The number of unmasking requests issued by the National Security Agency in 2019
• 17,000: The number of unmasking requests issued by the National Security Agency in 2018
• 12: The number of Russians indicted for electoral sabotage to help Trump

Sources:

• "Flynn case boosts Trump's bid to undo Russia probe narrative" - Associated Press
• "Biden's presence on the list could turn it into an election year issue, though the document itself does not show any evidence of wrongdoing." - Axios
• "The latest salvo to discredit the FBI's Russia investigation and accuse the previous administration of wrongdoing." - CNN
• "The declassification itself suggests Trump's allies are 'wielding the information for his political benefit.'" - New York Times
• "This unmasking is a 'common government practice.'" - The Post