‘Whole thing is ridiculous’: Analyst slams ‘pearl clutching’ after Charlie Kirk murder
A liberal analyst slammed the "pearl clutching" she sees in the right-wing media after conservative activist Charlie Kirk was murdered on Wednesday.
Ana Kasparian, co-host of "The Young Turks" podcast, discussed how the right-wing media has responded to Kirk's murder on a new podcast episode on Thursday. She said high-profile media figures on the right seem to be "hyping up a war with the left."
"The pearl clutching from the right is really bothering me, considering the record, the very real existing record, of their calls for violence or their mocking of left-wing figures," Kasparian said. "This whole thing is ridiculous."
Kasparian pointed to examples of conservative politicians downplaying or mocking political violence enacted against Democrats. For instance, she noted that Rep. Clay Higgins (R-LA) publicly shared disinformation about the attack on Paul Pelosi in 2022.
Higgins has also called for people who "belittle" Kirk to be banned from social media.
Chris Rufo, a prominent conservative writer, posted on X that "the last time the radical Left orchestrated a wave of violence and terror, J. Edgar Hoover shut it all down within a few years."
Kasparian argued that these reactions could
"Rather than taking the temperature down, rather than trying to find a way to ensure that there isn't additional violence, you have a sitting member of Congress talking about the need to permanently censor people on the left for their political speech," she said.
Tulsi Gabbard retracts report that may have ‘improperly’ identified Trump official: report
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard retracted an intelligence report on Tuesday because it may have "improperly" identified a Trump administration official, according to a new report.
The report Gabbard withdrew detailed work performed by Richard Grenell in Venezuela, The New York Times reported. Grenell was a top intelligence official in the first Trump administration and currently leads the Kennedy Center.
The Times reported that the document included information about Grenell's conversations and negotiations with Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, citing "people briefed on the document."
"Multiple people briefed on the matter insisted the report was recalled because it did not adequately hide Mr. Grenell’s identity, describing him as the presidential envoy to Venezuela," according to the Times. "Ms. Gabbard has asked intelligence agencies to take special care with reports that either directly identify Trump administration officials or are written in ways that could easily identify them."
Gabbard previously caused a stir after she released the name of an undercover spy in an effort to announce that DNI had revoked security clearances for several people who worked on Trump's impeachment trials and the investigation into ties between Russia and the Trump campaign.
"News of the recall came amid a debate over the Trump administration’s policy toward the country," according to the report. "Mr. Grenell, who serves as an envoy to Venezuela, has advocated negotiations with its authoritarian government, while Secretary of State Marco Rubio has pushed for a more hard-line approach."
"But other officials said the recall of the report had little to do with competing camps in the Trump administration and was more about improperly identifying a senior official in an intelligence document," it added.
