by Daveda Gruber:
Would the mainstream media hold back on a story if it could possibly hurt a Democratic runner in an election? You wouldn’t think so, right? You’d be wrong if you thought that they would get the story out, no matter if it were good, bad or indifferent.
A reporter from Reuters, Joseph Menn, allegedly sat on a big story about Robert Francis O’Rourke. Ted Cruz and O’Rourke ran for a Senate seat in the 2018 mid-term election.
On Friday a famous group of hackers called the “Cult of the Dead Cow” revealed that now 2020 presidential candidate O’Rourke was a member. The hacking group has been credited with inventing the term “hacktivism.”
The group is responsible for a variety of shady activities. Stealing credit card numbers to pay for long-distance telephone service, violating copyright laws and hacking into computers were some of the activities that the hackers participated in. The report from Reuters did stress that O’Rourke himself never “engaged in the edgiest sorts of hacking activity.”
Also brought into light, was another allegation that I’ve written about Beto in connection with the group, wrote bizarre fiction stories under the name “Psychedelic Warlord,” which includes a story about the fantasy of murdering, by running over two children with a car.
As soon as the story came out, Beto was out expressing regret about his deeds.
Check out this VIDEO:
Menn knew about all of this in 2017 and he sat on it. According to Menn, members of the hacking group were protecting O’Rourke’s identity and would not confirm his connection to them unless the reporter, Menn, promised not to write about it until after the November election.
Apparently, they made a deal. Menn agreed to sit on an adverse story about Beto until his Senate race was over. Beto lost to Cruz.
Reuters’s story was titled: “Backstory: How Reuters uncovered Beto O’Rourke’s teenage hacking days.”
The story went on to say:
“After more than a year of reporting, Menn persuaded O’Rourke to talk on the record. In an interview in late 2017, O’Rourke acknowledged that he was a member of the group, on the understanding that the information would not be made public until after his Senate race against Ted Cruz in November 2018.
Democratic 2020 presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke, 46, speaks with supporters during a three day road trip across Iowa, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, U.S., March 15, 2019. REUTERS/Ben Brewer
In an interview with Reuters senior producer Jane Lee, Menn explains how he broke the story and got O’Rourke to open up about his hacking days.
“I decided to write a book about the Cult of the Dead Cow because they were the most interesting and influential hacking group in history. They illustrated a lot of the things that I think are fascinating about hacking and security work.
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“While I was looking into the Cult of the Dead Cow, I found out that they had a member who was sitting in Congress. I didn’t know which one. But I knew that they had a member of Congress.
“And then I figured out which one it was. And the members of the group wouldn’t talk to me about who it was. They wouldn’t confirm that it was this person unless I promised that I wouldn’t write about it until after the November election. That’s because the member of Congress had decided to run for Senate. Beto O’Rourke is who it was.
“I met Beto O’Rourke. I said ‘I’m writing a book about Cult of the Dead Cow, I think it’s really interesting. I know you were in this group. This book is going to publish after November and your Senate race is over. And he said, ‘OK.’
“And he told me about his time in the Cult of the Dead Cow.””
Cruz took to Twitter to express his feelings:
So Reuters had evidence in 2017 that Beto may have committed multiple felonies—which Beto confirmed on the record—but deliberately withheld the story for over a year to help him win his Senate race? But when he’s running against Bernie etc, NOW it’s news? https://t.co/dUfrRPw1By
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) March 16, 2019
Menn had some interesting tweets on the subject too:
To be clear, I offered @BetoORourke an embargo because it was for a book I was on leave to write, not for my day job, and because no one else who knew would confirm the facts before the election.
— Joseph Menn (@josephmenn) March 16, 2019
Gosh this is fun. I did not have the story before the November election because no one would talk.
— Joseph Menn (@josephmenn) March 17, 2019
No one in cDc would talk about O’Rourke until I promised not to publish before the 2018 election. That was OK: I wanted the full story for my book, which spans decades, rather than 1 scoop ahead of a state vote. I offered O’Rourke the same terms. He accepted, and we spoke. (8/10) pic.twitter.com/psZCnSD9ZP
— Joseph Menn (@josephmenn) March 15, 2019
Fresh U.S presidential candidate @BetoORourke was a member of the country’s oldest hacking group, which has kept his role a secret for decades – until now. My story is up on Reuters at https://t.co/pvdNu7p7Yg, but let me say a little more in this thread. (1/10) pic.twitter.com/luGt4QDhnK
— Joseph Menn (@josephmenn) March 15, 2019
Do people actually understand that the news media is biased? Some do and some watch TV news blindly and listen to what they believe must be truth that is being reported.
I am personally disgusted in what I see being reported and not being reported. The media is backing the LEFT and they are not hiding their agenda.
