A CNN spokesperson shared a three-letter verbal statement on the latest right-wing sting video from James O'Keefe's Project Veritas: "LOL." The new video, the second in a series titled "American Pravda," shows CNN liberal commentator Van Jones telling an unidentified man with a hidden camera, “The Russia thing is just a big nothing burger.” The video provides next-to-zero context for the quote, yet Project Veritas suggests it proves that CNN is intentionally pushing a false narrative about the Trump campaign’s alleged ties to Russia. In reference to the first video in the series, White House press aide Sarah Huckabee Sanders said on Tuesday, “There’s a video circulating now, whether it’s accurate or not, I don’t know, but I would encourage everyone in this room and frankly everybody across the country to take a look at it.” Less than a week ago, in a public video posted to Twitter, Jones said he believes Democrats are “fooling ourselves” if they believe something will come out of the Russia investigation to end Trump's presidency. “Unless there is a real smoking gun, which there is probably not,” he said, “it’s just going to be a big old mess.”
—Matt Wilstein