Jared Kushner, Ivanka Trump’s husband, owns and acts as publisher of the New York Observer. An op-ed calling on the FBI to investigate the anti-Trump protestors appeared in Friday’s edition of the paper, and it’s disturbing, to say the least.
‘First They Came For The Communists…’
The op-ed, written by Austin Bay, calls on FBI Director James Comey to begin an investigation into the anti-Trump protests that have taken place across the country since the election of Donald Trump. Bay not-so-subtly suggests that the protests were funded by groups calling for recounts, and, of course, that old bugaboo — George Soros.
Bay tosses out conspiracy theory after conspiracy theory in his piece under the age-old guise of “just asking questions.”
Of course, when the conspiracy theories start coming from someone with very close ties to the President-elect (and sometimes from the President-elect himself), things get a little disturbing.
As Alternet reported:
“Jim Naureckas, editor of Extra!, the media watchdog magazine of Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting, told AlterNet that Bay’s op-ed is one of the most disturbing things he has seen since the election. ‘To have the incoming ruler’s son-in-law using his paper to call for the federal police to investigate protests against the ruler, that is pretty far gone,’ he said. ‘It struck me as a “first they came for the communists” moment.’
[…]
Naureckas said it does not matter that Kushner himself did not write the piece. ‘This publication is literally in the family,’ he said. ‘This paper has been an organ of the Trump movement from the beginning, and it is owned by one of the closest confidants Trump has. The idea of sending the secret police after protesters is an incredibly dangerous idea, and it must be repudiated.'”
It is, indeed, a frightening idea.
It is not, however, the first time that someone close to Trump — or Trump himself — has made noises about stifling dissent.
Throughout the campaign, Trump incited violence at his rallies against protestors. He floated the idea of a Muslim registry and has, since the election, brought up the idea again. His supporters shouted Lügenpresse — a word used by the Nazis to lambast the media — at the press pools during the campaign. Trump called the protests “unfair” on Twitter, and he even calls Saturday Night Live “biased.”
I think it’s safe to expect the New York Observer to become the Der Angriff of the Trump administration, with Jared Kushner at the helm.
Featured Image via screenshot from YouTube video
