Trump Jr.: Pizzagate blogger deserves Pulitzer for Susan Rice story

The president's son says the man who promoted the lie that a child-sex ring operated underneath a Washington, D.C. pizza parlor deserves a Pulitzer Prize for "breaking" a story about Susan Rice.

Donald Trump Jr. tweeted, "Congrats to @Cernovich for breaking the #SusanRice story. In a long gone time of unbiased journalism he'd win the Pulitzer, but not today!"

@Cernovich is white nationalist blogger and media personality Mike Cernovich, who penned "Gorilla Mindset" (endorsed by former national security adviser Gen. Mike Flynn). Cernovich repeatedly tweeted during the election campaign that Hillary Clinton was dying. He' has also said "diversity is code for white genocide," that "date rape does not exist" and that "misogyny gets you laid."

Congrats to @Cernovich for breaking the #SusanRice story. In a long gone time of unbiased journalism he'd win the Pulitzer, but not today! — Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) April 4, 2017

The unattributed story reported by Cernovich was that former Obama national security adviser Susan Rice "unmasked" the names of incoming Trump administration officials who were not targets of electronic eavesdropping, but were caught up in foreign surveillance. Cernovich alleged that Rice then sent the unmasked names to a few top intelligence officials.

Photo: Carolyn Kaster, STF Donald Trump Jr. praised white-nationalist blogger Mike Cernovich...

Bloomberg also reported the story, citing anonymous U.S. officials as sources:

"White House lawyers last month learned that the former national security adviser Susan Rice requested the identities of U.S. persons in raw intelligence reports on dozens of occasions that connect to the Donald Trump transition and campaign."

Rice today denied ever leaking classified information to the press. Nor did she ever request to unmask the identities of U.S. individuals in intelligence reports for political purposes, she said.

"I leaked nothing to nobody and never have and never would," Rice told MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell.

The Rice allegations come as House and Senate intelligence committees are investigating any ties between Trump associates and a Russian influence operation against Hillary Clinton during the election.

Smoking gun found! Obama pal and noted dissembler Susan Rice said to have been spying on Trump campaign.

https://t.co/SHJ41vhQu7 — Senator Rand Paul (@RandPaul) April 3, 2017

Rep. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) tweeted that Rice's "unmasking" of Trump campaign officials was the "smoking gun" proving Obama administration surveillance.

Even though Rice denied unmasking Trump campaign associates, national security experts say that she had every right to do so if her goal was to determine the extend of Russian interference in the presidential election.

"If she's asking for specific names to be unmasked in order to understand what Russia may be doing to influence the U.S. political system and influence our elections, presumably in a way they thought would benefit them, she's doing her job," former federal prosecutor Rebecca Lonergan told Talking Points Memo. Lonergan has handled foreign surveillance cases.