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In late May, a conservative media figure named John Solomon acknowledged he was poised for a brief career change: Instead of publishing reports favored by the Trump White House, Solomon was being vetted for a short-term job in the Trump White House.

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For those familiar with his work, this was not an encouraging development: Solomon is perhaps best known for trying to undermine the validity of the Trump-Russia scandal.

Nevertheless, the vetting apparently worked out well, and Solomon joined Donald Trump’s operation soon after. Whether he’s serving the president well is another matter entirely.

Ahead of the Republican’s prime-time address on Thursday, in which Trump is expected to peddle a new round of election conspiracy theories, The Washington Post reported:

Trump is making the prime-time announcement at the urging of advisers including Bill Pulte, the acting director of national intelligence, and John Solomon, a former conservative journalist who temporarily joined the White House to help review government records for release. Solomon has long questioned investigations surrounding Trump and has pushed for the release of FBI investigatory files related to alleged election interference.

Solomon’s role in steering the president in these conspiratorial directions is problematic on its face, but just as notable is that even some in the White House aren’t impressed.

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MS NOW spoke this week with an administration official familiar with deliberations over the intelligence community’s material. Referring specifically to Pulte and Solomon, the official told MS NOW, “It’s that network [of people] that is the real f***ing problem. They try to put bits and pieces together and then make these conclusions. Everything I have seen, it’s not what’s there.”

The same official said, in reference to claims from Pulte and Solomon, “The intelligence just doesn’t say what you want it to say. I’m sorry.”

The trouble, of course, is that the president is apparently inclined to believe what Pulte and Solomon have to say, whether they’re right or not.

Indeed, it’s almost certainly why Solomon was hired in the first place. In early June, Media Matters highlighted the conservative media figure’s recent history, noting, “Solomon, Media Matters’ Misinformer of the Year, has a history of appearing on right-wing media to spread disputed claims about supposed government weaponization, and he has heavily supported President Donald Trump’s Department of Justice’s ‘grand conspiracy’ campaign, calling for ‘accountability’ for those he claims have wronged Trump.”

The president, in other words, is getting the guidance he wants from someone who’s inclined to tell him what he wants to hear.

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