A reporter challenged State Department spokesman Ned Price on claims that Russia might be cooking up a propaganda video showing a fabricated attack by Ukrainian forces to justify military action against Ukraine.
Associated Press correspondent Matt Lee pressed Price for evidence to support his talk of a possible “false flag operation” and referenced past U.S. intelligence community failures, including claims about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq before the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, to justify his skepticism.
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“Russia plans to stage fabricated attacks by Ukrainian military or intelligence forces as a pretext for a further invasion of Ukraine,” Price said during a press briefing Thursday. “One possible option the Russians are considering, and which we made public today, involves the production of a propaganda video with graphic scenes of false explosions depicting corpses, crisis actors pretending to be mourners, and images of destroyed locations or military equipment entirely fabricated by Russian intelligence.”
Lee quickly asked for evidence and repeatedly followed up with Price, pressing him on the assertion.
“It’s an action you say they have taken, but you have shown no evidence to confirm that. And I’m going to get to the next question here, which is what is the evidence? I mean, crisis actors, really? This is like Alex Jones territory … you’re getting into now,” Lee said, referecning InfoWars host Alex Jones. “What evidence do you have?”
Please watch this video in which journalist Matt Lee accuses State Dept. spokesman Ned Price of veering into “Alex Jones territory” by making the claim that Russia plans to stage a “false flag” attack with “crisis actors” — Price then sneeringly calls Lee a Russian propagandist pic.twitter.com/5xMsbfWYgz
— Michael Tracey (@mtracey) February 3, 2022
Price said the U.S. government declassified the information to deter Russia from deploying such a video. He also said the intelligence was declassified because the Biden administration was confident in the information and noted that the government was maintaining some confidentiality to protect “sensitive sources and methods.” Lee continued to press for evidence.
“If you doubt the credibility of the U.S. government, of the British government, of other governments and want to, you know, find solace in information that the Russians are putting out, that is for you to do,” Price said.
Following the encounter, Price tweeted out a statement saying Lee was clearly “no one’s dupe” and that he had “nothing but respect” for Lee.
The renowned @APDiploWriter and I have had our fair share of sparring sessions, and I have the scars to prove it. Clearly, he’s no one’s dupe, and I’d never want to suggest otherwise. Nothing but respect for him, which I underscored in a call to him after the briefing.
— Ned Price (@StateDeptSpox) February 3, 2022
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Russia has amassed upwards of 130,000 troops around Ukraine’s border, according to some estimates. Adding to the tension, Russia also said it is preparing for joint military exercises with Belarus, which shares a border with Ukraine.
The military buildup in the area has sparked concerns from Western nations that Russia is preparing to invade Ukraine. Russia, which invaded and annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, has issued demands to NATO in exchange for reducing its troop count, including ending its open-door policy and moving the alliance back to a “1997 status quo.” NATO has publicly rejected many of those demands.
