The Trump administration circulated an intelligence-style memo detailing a conspiracy theory that former Obama staffers are using their pedestals in the private sector to undermine President Donald Trump’s foreign policy, according to a Thursday New Yorker report.
The memo, called “The Echo Chamber,” identified former national security staffers Ben Rhodes and Colin Kahl as heading the operation. Both men have told the New Yorker that the allegations are unequivocally false.
The memo also includes names of those considered supporting players in the conspiracy, including staffers-turned-podcasters Jon Favreau and Tommy Vietor.
Favreau, a host of Pod Save America, responded to the allegations with humor.
They could’ve saved themselves some time by just downloading the pod?
— Jon Favreau (@jonfavs) August 24, 2018
Worryingly, the memo reportedly echoes documents written by an Israeli intelligence firm called Black Cube that worked to gather damaging information about Obama aides who were spearheading the Iran nuclear deal. The phrase “echo chamber” and some of those staffers were found in the documents.
The Black Cube documents also include the names of journalists thought to be working alongside the Obama administration’s efforts, including the New York Times’ Max Fisher and NBC News’s Andrea Mitchell.
