Occasionally, the more cynical/corrupt/simple-minded/brazen politicians and their associates will say something resembling the truth about their motivations, tactics and rationale. As we’ll see, legal action also encourages truthfulness.
Here are a few examples that could be seen as “saying the quiet part out loud”, or, small tears in the fabric of right-wing myth-making. I’ll add to this list with more examples from the UK and US, so subscribe for the latest update.
- Rupert Murdoch agreed with the statement: “It is not red or blue—it is green,”
about the decision to let Lindell run ads for his company, MyPillow. Fox Corporation revenue was $14bn in 2022. - Isabel Oakeshott: “| am in no doubt that [Brexit Leave campaigners] Banks and Wigmore have been acting as agents of influence for the Russian state”.
Previously, Oakeshott has dismissed the claim that conspiracy played a part in the Vote Leave Brexit campaign.
The story appears to be: In November 2017, Oakeshott received a tip that senior Conservative politicians and Brexit Leave campaigners had connections to Russia. She / her researcher then re-read some of the Arron Banks emails she had access to (she’d used them to write the Bad Boys of Brexit book), and concluded that there was some truth to this tip about the Russian connection. She then gave these emails to the Sunday Times who said they would publish articles about them. It was eight months before The Sunday Times published them.
In a statement, Oakeshott said:
“| have come to the conclusion that | have no choice but to speak out. | cannot stand by, while Banks and Wigmore publicly lie about their dealings with Russia; and submit partial and misleading information to the electoral authorities… Taking all the evidence | have obtained into account, | am in no doubt that Banks and Wigmore have been acting as agents of influence for the Russian state. This was not a mere coincidence of views or an extended social relationship. The material clearly shows that they discussed Brexit and personal enrichment opportunities with senior Russian officials. They met several times with men they knew to be members of Russian intelligence services and passed them sensitive documents. They claim to be patriots, but when the UK and Russia had a political dispute, they publicly and privately supported the Russian position.”
This info is from a series of tweets by Carole Cadwalladr. Much of it can be checked in the judgment of the trial of a libel claim brought by claimant Arron Banks, against the defendant, Cadwalladr. Looking back, the Brexit Leave campaign is still very murky. And still under examined by the media. More info.
The judgement states: “Based on her investigation, Ms Cadwalladr had reasonable grounds to believe that (i) Mr Banks had been offered ‘sweetheart’ deals by the Russian government in the period running up to the EU Referendum, although she had seen no evidence he had entered into any such deals; and (ii). Mr Banks’s financial affairs, and the source of his ability to make the biggest political donations in UK history, were opaque. Most importantly, when Ms Cadwalladr gave the TED Talk the Electoral Commission had announced, following a one-year investigation, that it had reasonable grounds to suspect that Mr Banks was not the true source of the £8 million loans/donations, but rather the source was a non-qualifying company, Rock Holdings, which is based in an off-shore, non transparent, jurisdiction.”
- Lee Anderson says Tories should fight election on ‘culture wars and trans debate’. Deputy chairman of the Conservative Party, Lee Anderson: “At the next election we haven’t got those three things [Brexit, Boris Johnson, Jeremy Corbyn] so we’ll have to think of something else. It’ll probably be a mix of culture wars and trans debate.”
- Fox News hosts thought Trump’s election fraud claims were ‘total BS’, court filings show. ““He’s acting like an insane person,” Hannity allegedly wrote of Trump in the weeks following the election as the host continued to push the so-called “big lie” during his top-rated prime time show, aided by a succession of election deniers he had on as guests.”
- MP Christian Wakeford apologises for asylum seeker comments. While a Conservative MP, Christian Wakeford claimed asylum seekers “have a shopping trolley as to what they want as economic migrants” and backed the controversial nationality and borders bill in July 2021. When he became a Labour MP he said: “I want to go on record and say what I said 18 months ago was wrong and I am sorry for saying it. Every week, the government uses scapegoats and as we continue to see even yesterday, asylum seekers have been one for this government for far too long. I am sorry for playing into that narrative. These people aren’t arbitrary numbers for newspaper editors to froth at the mouth about and stoke the fire of intolerance.”
- Australia free trade deal a failure for UK, says George Eustice. Conservative MP George Eustice, 17 June 2021: “Australia is an important ally and this is a good agreement between us.” After he left his role as Environment Secretary, Eustice said on 14 Nov 2022: “The Australia trade deal is not actually a very good deal for the UK.”
More info: “The Australian trade deal is not actually a very good deal for the UK… the UK gave away far too much for far too little in return.”. Former Environment Sec George Eustice has spoken about the post-Brexit UK/Australia trade deal in the Commons. He says now no longer a minister: “I no longer have to put such a positive gloss on what was agreed.” Video. - Pro-Trump lawyer says ‘no reasonable person’ would believe her election lies. “No reasonable person would conclude that the statements were truly statements of fact,” argued lawyers for Powell, a former federal prosecutor from Texas who caught Trump’s attention through her involvement in the defense of his former national security adviser Michael Flynn.
- InfoWars’ Alex Jones is a ‘performance artist playing a character’, says his lawyer. Randall Wilhite, Mr Jones’s attorney,: “He’s playing a character. He is a performance artist.” Mr Wilhite said, according to the Austin-American Statesman.
- Capitol riot suspect blames ‘pack of lies,’ seeks release. Doug Jenson, “a QAnon conspiracy theorist who led a pack of Donald Trump supporters that chased a solitary police officer around the US Capitol on the day of the January 6 attack” says he is “a victim of numerous conspiracy theories that were being fed to him over the internet by a number of very clever people, who were uniquely equipped with slight, if any, moral or social consciousness.”
- Tory MP tells constituents he voted for Boris Johnson after securing a review into funding for his local council. Bob Seely MP said: “I voted that I had confidence in the Prime Minister as Leader of the Conservative Party, although not without some consideration and only after discussion with senior ministers… “I talked again with ministers about why a fair funding package has not yet been forthcoming for the Isle of Wight Council. I have been assured they will look at this again and will do so in the very near future, ahead of the ongoing review of local government finance. I will keep Islanders informed.”
- PM should remain in post because “the donors have spoken”. Conservative MP Dorries, Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, interview with Sky News, approx. Jun 6, 2022.
- A meme bragging that Roe v. Wade was overturned as a consequence of former President Barack Obama making fun of his father in 2011. On 24 June 2022, ex-president’s son Donald Trump Jr. posted a meme suggesting that Roe v. Wade was overturned as a consequence of former President Barack Obama making fun of his father in 2011. He appears to be linking petty political revenge to legislative changes that will adversely impact millions of lives.
- Journalists at rightwing Daily Express set to strike over pay. Staff from newspaper that rails against ‘militant trade unions’ will join sister outlets in striking on Friday.
Elsewhere
How Dominion Voting Systems filing proves Fox News was ‘deliberately lying’