Lunev in LA - Press Attacks Burton and Weldon, January 25, 2000

[kabud]

With Carl Limbacher and NewsMax.com Staff
For the story behind the story...
http://web.archive.org/web/20001029151354/newsmax.com/showinsidecover.shtml?a=2000/1/25/122546
Tuesday January 25, 2000 1:15PM

Lunev in LA - Press Attacks Burton and Weldon

Here's a page-one story if there ever was one.

Yesterday a top Russian spy, Col. Stanislav Lunev, testified in
disguise under armed guard before a congressional committee meeting in
Los Angeles.

The spy confirmed allegations made in a new book by another Russian
defector. Both defectors say Russia has secret stockpiles, possibly
including nuclear weapons, stored at secret sites in the United States
and across western Europe.

Rep. Dan Burton, chairman of the House Committee on Government Reform,
and Rep. Curt Weldon report that Russia has never 'fessed up about
this, and no effort has been made by the U.S. government to find these
secret weapons caches.

The hearing was covered by local and national press, including CNN and
The Associated Press.

After such stunning revelations, one might think the press would be
all over this story. When were these weapons stored? Where are these
secret depots? Why is our government not doing more to get the
Russians to reveal the facts? After all, we are sending billions in
aid there each year.

Apparently the major media felt these were trifling issues.

NewsMax.com's reporter in Los Angeles, Stephan Archer, reports that
after Colonel Lunev finished testifying not one member of the press
came over to him to get more details.

Instead, the press horde demanded to know why Burton was holding the
hearings at all.

To give you a flavor of the spin by the major media, here's the lead
sentence from AP reporter Linda Deutsch's "news" report of the
hearing: "Denying he is trying to 'create paranoia and a new Cold
War,' Rep. Dan Burton held a hearing on Russian espionage Monday with
an ex-spy testifying and a congressional colleague displaying a mock-
up of a briefcase-size nuclear weapon."

Here's more bias in Deutsch's AP report: "During a break, Burton was
strongly questioned by reporters about motives for the hearings and
whether he knows of actual weapons sites in California."

We would like to strongly question Deutsch, the AP and friends about
their motives for shielding relevant information about the country's
national security from the American people. While we are at it, we'd
also like to know how Deutsch can call herself a journalist.