It’s not all that subtle. Revelations that major news sources bring us about Trump’s possible Russian connections and the questionable finances surrounding the president, his family, and supporters seldom make the local papers. Likewise, indictments and guilty pleas connected to the Mueller investigation that make headlines elsewhere are barely covered if not outright ignored. And now that the president’s defenders have decided to do everything they can to discredit the Mueller investigation, our local Ogden papers have joined the team.

On Monday, both local papers ran the same AP story about President Trump wanting an investigation into whether the FBI had “infiltrated” his presidential campaign. The 1,135-word AP story was edited, however, by both papers: the Intelligencer used only the first 443 words while the afternoon paper included the first 703 words. Neither included any “balance” in their version; Trump lawyer Rudy Guiliani’s perspective made up most of both versions of the AP story. This, for example, was excluded from both versions:

Rep. Adam Schiff of California, the senior Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, called Trump's claim of an embedded spy "nonsense."

"His 'demand' DOJ investigate something they know to be untrue is an abuse of power, and an effort to distract from his growing legal problems," Schiff said on Twitter. "Never mind that DOJ has warned that lives and alliances are at risk. He doesn't care."

(By the way, the Intelligencer’s headline told us that “Trump Seeks Probe of FBI.” On the other hand, the AP's first sentence, and the headline used by most other sources, informed us that Trump demands a probe. It’s just a one-word difference but the Intelligencer’s version subtly portrays the president as polite and procedural rather than childlike or despotic.)

This afternoon’s editorial, “Identifying Bad Apples in Agencies,” supports the president’s demand. (Note – no link available.) Apparently, the News-Register believes that because, for instance, the FBI has investigated the Steele dossier without corroboration from other sources (something the News-Register has no way of knowing is true), “Trump is right to insist upon an investigation.” Huh? Isn’t looking into all possibilities what a bureau of investigation charged with looking into Russian influence in our elections is supposed to do?