The Intercept’s Point: Grusch Is Not the Victim of a Conspiracy to Silence Him

People seem to be missing the central point of the Intercept article, a point which however much this sub might try to deny it, is newsworthy: Grusch kept his security clearance, despite being involved in an incident that would typically have gotten it pulled. Reporting that is not a “smear attempt,” it’s completely relevant given that it directly flies in the face of Grusch’s claims that he was stonewalled, intimidated, and blocked from completing his investigation. To the contrary, it seems that the powers that be had a great opportunity to shut him up by pulling his security clearance, but they didn’t take it.

So, yes, the article ultimately calls Grusch’s claims into doubt. However, it doesn’t do so by pointing out that he has PTSD (a fact that’s totally irrelevant to the point of the story), but rather, by illustrating that he was allowed to keep his security clearance when many others had it pulled for much less.

All the claims about conspiracies to silence Grusch being made both by him and his supporters in the media are beginning to look like, themselves, paranoid conspiracies. To the contrary, it seems like everyone’s bent over backwards to give him opportunity to speak, even in instances where they don’t take his claims very seriously. He’s done multiple TV interviews, had the inspector general investigate his claims, testified behind closed doors, and even had a whole congressional hearing devoted to him, all after he was able to complete his investigation despite an incident that would have gotten any other person’s security clearance pulled. So where’s the conspiracy to silence him, exactly?