CNN Reporter Harasses Elderly Woman At Her Home Because Her Facebook Group Was Allegedly Targeted By Russian Trolls [VIDEO]

Chuck Ross
Reporter

As part of its obsessive coverage of Russiagate, CNN sent reporter Drew Griffin to Florida to interview an elderly woman who runs a Facebook group that was targeted by Russian trolls prior to the 2016 election.

The woman, Florine Gruen Goldfarb, had no idea that her Team Trump Broward County Facebook page was targeted by Russian operatives, but that didn’t stop Griffin from haranguing her anyway.

Griffin showed up to Goldfarb’s home in Pembroke Pines and, microphone in hand and TV camera in tow, proceeded to grill her about the Russian operation.

Griffin acknowledged that Goldfarb was likely unaware that her group was targeted by Russians. And in a tweet of the two-minute interview, CNN acknowledged that she “unwittingly promoted” a rally orchestrated by Russian trolls.

 



 
Details of the operation that targeted Goldfarb’s group were laid out in an indictment handed down last Friday by special counsel Robert Mueller.

Russian operatives posing as Americans used a Facebook group called “Being Patriotic” to promote a series of rallies across Florida, according to the filing.

Goldfarb and members of her organization attended a rally in Fort Lauderdale and helped promote others. All the while, she had no idea that the events were being pushed by the Kremlin operation, which was headquartered in St. Petersburg, Russia.

It is unclear what Griffin hoped to accomplish with the interview. He sought to convince Goldfarb that the Russian firm, called the Internet Research Agency, had infiltrated her pro-Trump group.

But Goldfarb was more focused on who actually attended her rallies.

“Those people weren’t Russians. I don’t go with Russians,” she said at one point.

“Those people that were with me were all Trump supporters,” she added.

“And all apparently following the direction of Russians who were actually infiltrating,” Griffin replied.

“B.S.,” said Goldfarb.

The Team Trump Broward page shows some photos from the rally that was promoted by the “Being Patriotic” troll group. The turnout for the rally was relatively small, with no more than several dozen people attending. The group also appears to have attended many other rallies during the campaign.

CNN itself appears to have been tricked into attending a rally organized by Kremlin agents. The network sent reporters to cover a Nov. 12, 2016 anti-Trump rally held in New York City.

Brynn Gingras the CNN correspondent who covered the rally, called it “the most organized protest that I’ve seen happen here in New York City.”

“That’s good news,” Gringas added.

Griffin did not return a request for comment.