(h/t Seth Abramson. If you want to know more about this tape, i recommend the FAQ by Seth Abramson here. Annieli also wrote about it here.) The BBC (normally a reliable news source) journalist Paul Wood (He also wrote more about it in the Spectator, but that is behind a paywall. See Annieli’s diary for snippets) has written that active CIA agents told him, via an intermediary, that there are actually TWO tapes of a sexual nature, one filmed in Moscow and the other in St. Petersburg. (link):
Later, I used an intermediary to pass some questions to active duty CIA officers dealing with the case file - they would not speak to me directly. I got a message back that there was "more than one tape", "audio and video", on "more than one date", in "more than one place" - in the Ritz-Carlton in Moscow and also in St Petersburg - and that the material was "of a sexual nature".
Wood had three sources for the “pee tape”: Steele, the abovementioned CIA agents and a seemingly different retired spy who said he had been informed of its existence by "the head of an East European intelligence agency".
Now on to some things you might have missed. One reason the new book by Isikoff and Corn, which also generated some “pee tape” discussion, may not be getting the attention it deserves yet is that they aren’t creating clickbait sensationalistic marketing like MIchael Wolff did with his book. Speaking of which, formerly reputable outlets like Newsweek have descended into the world of clickbait journalism (hopefully Newsweek can recover some of its reputation with time). Here is what Kurt Eichenwald said on twitter about Newsweek:
The great Jim Impoco, who was dedicated to hard-hitting long form journalism, was knifed & replaced by Matt MaCallaster, who launched a clickbait factory that manipulated the Google algorithm, killed every article that might be least bit controversial.
Eichenwald was discussing a recent story that came out about Donald tRump taking uppers. It was from a piece that MaCallaster had refused to publish. Here is what Eichenwald said:
Ah, what the hell....this is the portion on Trump's drug use from the Newsweek story that set off a war. Matt Mcallaster, soon fired under sex discrimination cloud, said he was 2 frightened to publish despite push by every other editor. I've left Newsweek.
So there are two reasons you may not be seeing what you should in mainstream media. Hard-hitting long form journalism, the type Corn and Isikoff are famous for, isn’t as easily monetized (turned into clickbait to generate ad revenue) as sensational clickbait stories are. Second, editors are often afraid to publish certain material for fear of retribution. (Like chief tRump flunkies Grassley and Graham calling for an investigation of Steele.)
Back to the “pee tape,” although it seems like the sort of story that could be monetized (Buzzfeed might have published the Dossier for that reason), there has obviously been a lack of attention given to it in mainstream media. Without the actual tapes, it is a risky proposition to talk about it when there is a vengeful orange Squatter in the White House who has collaborative stooges in the House in addition to Senate henchmen like Grassley and Graham.
Let’s not get too distracted by the clickbait and do all we can to encourage those who still practice genuine investigative journalism. Talk about the parts that matter and generate public interest.
