The White House assigned reporters failed to question Jake Sullivan, National Security Advisor, about his past history of lying about Russia. He also encouraged journalists to believe U.S intelligence reports suggesting Russia would soon invade Ukraine.
Sullivan spoke at the White House press conference on Friday, warning of a Russian invasion in Ukraine as soon as next week. He also urged Americans to leave Ukraine and warned that U.S. troops wouldn’t be risked for their safety.
Reporters wanted to know why U.S. intelligence assessments should be believed, considering the past history of consequential mistakes such as those prior to the Iraq War. Sullivan encouraged journalists not to be afraid to ask questions while arguing that the situations were very different.
Journalists did not question Sullivan about his lack of personal credibility in Russia after he told reporters falsely about Russia’s collusion with President-elect Donald Trump in 2016.
Hillary Clinton’s email scandal implicated Sullivan. He admitted under oath to Congress in 2017 that he had briefed journalists about his suspicions of collusion between Russia and Trump.
Shortly before the 2016 election, Sullivan released a press release claiming that Trump used an “secret hotline” to Russia through Alfa Bank. The conspiracy theory about Alfa Bank was found to be false by U.S. authorities.
Sullivan repeatedly stated that Russia could try to justify an invasion using a “false Flag” operation to create a pretext.