Russia Inquiry Fails to Unite a Nation

[Commentary] As the country grapples with a  serious affront to American democracy, the agreement on the basic facts in the mainstream news media does not extend to Rupert Murdoch’s media empire and other important parts of the conservative media. This is the case even as the special counsel Robert S. Mueller III bears down in his investigation of the alleged Russian efforts to sway the 2016 presidential election. As Mueller and his team home in on people connected to President Trump, including his former campaign manager Paul Manafort, the president and his allies in the conservative media sphere are pointing at the Democrats and Hillary Clinton. Adding to the problem is the recent behavior of the tech companies, which have not shown the same desire for accountability. When Congress called Facebook, Twitter and Google to testify, the platforms sent their lawyers, not their top bosses. The opacity of the tech companies was matched by the efforts of some conservative media outlets to confuse and distract. [Jim Rutenberg]