"‘Russians helping Sanders!’ MSM take abrupt break from anti-Trump frenzy for a ‘never Bernie’ moment on the eve of Nevada caucus "
RT.com (Feb 21, 2020)
https://www.rt.com/usa/481439-bernie-sanders-russia-democratic/

As Bernie Sanders surges to the front of the pack for the Democratic nomination, the Washington Post has dropped an anonymous “bombshell” claiming that Moscow seeks to help him as well as its "puppet" US President Donald Trump.

On the word of “people familiar with the matter,” the Post said in a report on Friday that US officials had informed Sanders of a Russian effort to assist his campaign, noting that President Trump and US lawmakers had also been warned of the supposed plot.

While the Post maintained a plausible deniability by saying it’s unclear “what form that Russian assistance has taken” and offering no detail beyond generic assertions from unnamed sources, the paper nonetheless compelled a denial from the avowed democratic socialist, who apparently accepted the basis of the accusation as fact [emphasis added].

“I don’t care, frankly, who Putin wants to be president,” Sanders said in a statement to the Post, reinforcing it with a generic DNC talking point [emphasis added]. “My message to Putin is clear: Stay out of American elections, and as president I will make sure that you do.”

The report comes at a convenient time for Sanders’ opponents, as the senator emerges as a top contender in the Democratic race. Placing second in the Iowa caucus by a razor thin margin and winning the New Hampshire primary, he is widely expected to take first in the upcoming poll in Nevada.

While Bernie himself has responded to criticisms of his supporters’ abusive behavior online in a truly DNC fashion – by claiming Russian actors could be at work [emphasis added], social media giants have thrown cold water on the claim.

Both Twitter and Facebook weighed in earlier this week noting they’d seen no evidence of a pro-Sanders influence campaign on their platforms, with Facebook repeating that conclusion on Friday – before abruptly retracting the statement [emphasis added].

Since the very 2016 election, leaders in the Democratic Party have blamed their shock loss to Donald Trump – which came against all liberal media expectations, analyses and polls – on ‘Russian trolls’ and Moscow’s online ‘influence operations.’ A lengthy special counsel investigation, however, unearthed no evidence of any Trump-Russia ‘collusion,’ delivering a major blow to the DNC’s Russian meddling talking point [emphasis added].