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Aaron Maté is doing excellent, skeptical reporting on Russiagate at The Nation, and in video reports on The Real News; he joins us to comment on the big picture and the recent indictments of 13 Russians by special counsel Mueller.If you’re not familiar with Maté’s work, read this recent article at The Nation, and watch this interview of British reporter Luke Harding. The interview with John Feffer that’s mentioned is here.
First, Maté reacts to the recent disclosure of indictments of 13 Russians by special counsel Mueller for internet trolling operations aimed at influencing the US election in 2016. Maté suggests that the Internet Research Agency was driven primarily by the profit motive: they pushed out click bait that caused Americans to click and generate ad revenues.
We talk about how the outcome in 2016 was embarrassing to Democrats and pundits who never believed Clinton could lose, and they target Russia as a convenient nemesis even though there are plenty of of domestic factors that helped Trump.
We cover lots more in this conversation, from Maté’s view of Bill Binney’s arguments to MSNBC’s obsession with the Russia scandal. And as we wrap up, he offers a personal take on why he’s willing to take the risks to find the truth, while other reporters fall into line.