David Frum

David Frum @davidfrum

Along the trail of Trump-Russia, individual reporters made individual mistakes - conceded. Also true: the modern media landscape is more escape-inviting than that of 1972. We have more news sources, edited less carefully, moving faster, amplified by cable & social media 7/x — PolitiTweet.org

David Frum @davidfrum

But the second lesson of the October 1972 error is that catching a reporter in a mistake is not the same thing as debunking the larger story the reporter is revealing. 6/x — PolitiTweet.org

David Frum @davidfrum

There are multiple lessons to draw from that incident. One of course is the importance of reporters getting every detail right when following a big story. The error of October 26, 1972, might have cost Woodward and Bernstein their beat, if not their jobs. 5/x — PolitiTweet.org

David Frum @davidfrum

"Nixon’s men used the error to disparage all of the newspaper’s Watergate reporting. ... [Press secretary Ron] Ziegler accused The Post of engaging in 'shoddy and shabby' journalism and called the article a 'blatant effort at character assassination.'" https://t.co/lHwOPUifak 4/x — PolitiTweet.org

David Frum @davidfrum

For the Nixon White House - and for its still-numerous supporters - this error arrived as a God-send. As with Trump defenders and the Steele dossier, they tried to leverage the reporting error of October 1972 to discredit *everything* that had been published since June. 3/x — PolitiTweet.org

David Frum @davidfrum

Or rather, it was not exactly true. There was a secret fund. HR Haldeman did have approval rights. But Sloan had not (yet) testified to that effect to the grand jury - he had just privately confirmed the news to the two reporters. So ... an error. 2/x — PolitiTweet.org

David Frum @davidfrum

Three months into their Watergate reporting in 1972, Woodward & Bernstein slipped up. They reported that Nixon campaign treasurer Hugh Sloan *had told a grand jury* that top Nixon aide HR Haldeman had approval over the secret fund that paid the burglars. This was not true. 1/x — PolitiTweet.org

David Frum @davidfrum

Here's the article that has so upset the pro-Trump tweeters and accompanying bots, ICYMI yesterday — PolitiTweet.org

David Frum @davidfrum

So much to be thankful for in this year of recovery for US economy, society, and democracy. And a personal word of gratitude to all who follow here and read @TheAtlantic — PolitiTweet.org

David Frum @davidfrum

RT @wodekszemberg: .@davidfrum on the "Russia hoax": "the disintegration of the dossier’s answers has not silenced the power of its questio… — PolitiTweet.org

David Frum @davidfrum

But what about ... ? — PolitiTweet.org

David Frum @davidfrum

@annatkins @TheAtlantic Thank you! — PolitiTweet.org

David Frum @davidfrum

@DavidSatter and b) because it was obvious from the start that Trump could not be shamed and his supporters could not be dissuaded. The trail to follow was the money trail - and that of course was the trail specifically prohibited to Mueller by the Trump DoJ. https://t.co/w5QGSYmD5I — PolitiTweet.org

David Frum @davidfrum

Speaking personally, I never believed the "kompromat" theory of Trump-Russia, a) because @DavidSatter warned me off it https://t.co/ky7wMmlzwa ... — PolitiTweet.org

David Frum @davidfrum

RT @JohnJHarwood: it most definitely was not a hoax. thread https://t.co/Mzs4QRY28w — PolitiTweet.org

David Frum @davidfrum

Meanwhile, by far - BY FAR - the worst (and also cruelest) wrong reporting re Trump-Russia was Fox News' repeated defamation of poor murdered Seth Rich. If you want to complain about abuses by "the media," a person with a heart would start there. https://t.co/w5QGSYmD5I — PolitiTweet.org

David Frum @davidfrum

"Rachel Maddow said something in March of 2017 that later proved overstated" is not an adequate rebuttal to the confirmed factual record of Trump-Russia https://t.co/w5QGSYmD5I — PolitiTweet.org

David Frum @davidfrum

A lot of writers about Trump-Russia are less interested in the facts of what happened than in scoring points off media/political figures they dislike https://t.co/w5QGSYmD5I — PolitiTweet.org

David Frum @davidfrum

RT @TheAtlantic: "The usual suspects in the pro-Trump media ecosystem will of course endorse and repeat everything Trump says, no matter ho… — PolitiTweet.org

David Frum @davidfrum

RT @charles_gaba: For those criticizing @jonathanweisman's framing (especially by citing my own data/analysis in response): First, while I… — PolitiTweet.org

David Frum @davidfrum

RT @Only4RM: Pumpkin was grown on plantations in what's now modern-day Haiti but also became a symbol of abolition in the early 1800s when… — PolitiTweet.org

David Frum @davidfrum

It's been exhausting for honest people to keep pace with the ever-shifting false denials. But the confirmed facts are the confirmed facts. — PolitiTweet.org

David Frum @davidfrum

President Biden disappointed me on the turkey pardon tradition https://t.co/UuBwYxz19f — PolitiTweet.org

David Frum @davidfrum

@davemaulsby @TheAtlantic have fixed — PolitiTweet.org

David Frum @davidfrum

@davemaulsby @TheAtlantic er, right THank you! Will fix — PolitiTweet.org

David Frum @davidfrum

Trump-Russia was not a hoax: the plain facts of the confirmed record, latest in @TheAtlantic https://t.co/w5QGSYmD5I — PolitiTweet.org

David Frum @davidfrum

The spin campaign to conceal and deny Trump's Russia connections: it's now being driven by people who should know better. Latest in @TheAtlantic https://t.co/w5QGSYmD5I — PolitiTweet.org

David Frum @davidfrum

RT @terischultz: Polish President Andrzej Duda says the situation on his country's border with Belarus has suddenly become "much more dange… — PolitiTweet.org

David Frum @davidfrum

RT @bensmit06780964: "The usual suspects in the pro-Trump media ecosystem will of course endorse and repeat everything Trump says, no matte… — PolitiTweet.org

David Frum @davidfrum

RT @anneapplebaum: "On high-subscription Substacks, on popular podcasts, even from within prestige media institutions, people with scant il… — PolitiTweet.org