We don’t know if the suspected leaker of classified documents is a brave whistleblower, a reckless know-it-all, or a traitor who is risking lives. But we do know it wasn’t the job of the lapdog media to help the feds hunt him down.
If the leaked Pentagon files are legitimate, then 21-year-old Air National Guardsman Jack Teixeira may have brought to light that our government has lied about key aspects of the war in Ukraine. But instead of trying to verify the information and hold the government accountable, the press enlisted itself in the mole hunt. The New York Times arrived at Teixeira’s home just before the FBI, and The Washington Post, in a profile of him, revealed early that he is a “gun enthusiast.”
It’s completely proper for the Pentagon to protect its classified documents, and for the FBI to track down leakers. It will be up to a court to determine if Teixeira broke the law, and it will be for public opinion to decide if his actions were righteous or reckless. But since when does Big Media expose leakers of potentially important information?
The name of the whistleblower who kickstarted the first impeachment of former President Trump must never be uttered. The press showed little interest in finding out who leaked the draft opinion of the U.S. Supreme Court in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization case, an act that may have contributed to threats against conservative justices. And remember how Bradley Manning, now known as “Chelsea,” was hailed as a hero for dishing out troves of military secrets? Not only did Manning receive glowing praise from the Left, but his sentence was commuted by former President Barack Obama.
In Teixeira’s case, outlets such as The Washington Post and The New York Times didn’t track him down and give him anonymity so they could determine his motivation, or test the veracity of the documents. No, the vaunted I-teams of the nation’s leading newspapers seemed to be working hand-in-glove with law enforcement instead of trying to edify their own readers.
Instead, the press searched for him, uncovered his exact whereabouts, and then blasted his name far and wide.
Maybe by showing up the FBI’s bloodhounds, the lapdog media will actually curry favor with their deep-state sources. Perhaps they’ll have more phony “scoops” spoonfed to them.
WAPO is already branding the Pentagon leaker as a racist and anti-government nut. They're going to crucify this dude pic.twitter.com/TiY9Cxpf1h
— Saagar Enjeti (@esaagar) April 13, 2023
It’s just more evidence that legacy media sees itself as an enforcement arm of the Democratic Party, working to advance the interests of the government bureaucracy. Call it the Democrat-Media Complex. These so-called journalists have no interest in holding a Democratic administration accountable. And those bureaucrats in the intelligence and law enforcement communities? Those are their sources, the ones whose information and anonymous quotes help them win Pulitzer Prizes, even if it turns out to be as phony as the Steele Dossier.
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Not surprisingly, the Times’ own reporting on the classified documents story is replete with self-serving quotes and information from anonymous Department of Justice sources. For the record, the White House was lecturing the media that the leaked documents had no business at all being covered in the news, even as the compliant press scrambled to expose the leaker and not the information.
Over the next weeks and months, we will learn more about Teixeira and his motivation. But we already know why the liberal media played its role in his capture. They serve the Deep State, not their readers.
The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.