Did I call it or what? The media’s single-minded focus on ginning up 1001 Ways To Make The Trump Administration Look Bad, just took another lap around the moon. This breathless headline and story from the Associated Press showed up today:

AP Exclusive: DHS weighed Nat Guard for immigration roundups

And right on cue the ZOMG!! Freakout began. Every media outlet ran with the story and social media went bonkers.

For those who are still asking "Can it happen here?" I respectfully submit the tweet below… https://t.co/0AKbwmPgQq

— Peter Daou (@peterdaou) February 17, 2017

https://twitter.com/ShaunKing/status/832618211745095680?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

.@AP report isn't a bizarre tweet—it's an assault on innocent people & we must stand against #MassDeportation plans https://t.co/eCUo2BdZ80 pic.twitter.com/dWMmiV2YEy

— Senator Dick Durbin (@SenatorDurbin) February 17, 2017

I myself caught a glimpse of it and decided to take a closer look. Seven paragraphs into the “story” I saw this:

A DHS official described the document as a very early draft that was not seriously considered and never brought to the secretary for approval.

A draft folks. A DRAFT. But that didn’t bother reporter Garance Burke nor the Associated Press editors one bit! Never mind that it was a draft idea that never even made it off the starting block.

Someone in the DHS did something that meant our government – read TRUMP would be a big ole meanie pants to those poor undocumented illegal immigrants. Cue the knives and pitchforks!

Cooler heads took one look and said:

I'm going to go ahead and flag this as probably not true. https://t.co/z2u96RlmK0

— Sean Davis (@seanmdav) February 17, 2017

Yeah, pretty much! And then there’s this:

An amazing fact about the DHS memo that I didn't realize until now: deportation is never mentioned. National Guard language *excludes* it. pic.twitter.com/nmMdoAzVoc

— Sean Davis (@seanmdav) February 17, 2017

The White House had this response:

To put it bluntly, the White House said the AP’s story is 100% FALSE. Secondly, even though the media is reporting that DHS Secretary John Kelly wrote the draft, an actual draft never made it to his desk! Third, who at the DHS ran with this “GOTCHA” info to the Associated Press? If I were Secretary Kelly, I’d find that person and can their butt in a New York minute! Fourth, 100,000 National Guard troops? That’s close to ALL the National Guard troops we have right now. Fifth, as pointed out above, deportations were NEVER mentioned in document.

Speaking of the draft memo, let’s review shall we?

Alright, looking at a copy of the draft memo now. It never suggests nationalizing the Guard. It's an extension of 287(g). Here's it is: pic.twitter.com/Su8I8dQn6p

— Gabriel Malor (@gabrielmalor) February 17, 2017

WHOOPSIE! The AP and the rest of the media have some ‘splaining to do! One more item to note as referenced on the Victory Girls Facebook page, Crispin Burke at Task and Purpose reminds us of this pertinent detail:

Legal statuses matter when dealing with domestic unrest. Under Title 32 authority, the National Guard can operate in a law-enforcement capacity. Under Title 10 authority, however, the National Guard is restricted by the Posse Comitatus Act, a law which generally prevents federal military forces from participating in law enforcement (although there are certain exceptions).

Kelly’s proposal, as reported by the Associated Press, keeps the National Guard under Title 32 authority, leaving the states to decide whether to participate.

Once again, members of the mainstream media ran with a story that’s sole purpose was to get everyone’s shorts in a knot and make the Trump Administration look bad. Will they retract their story? Not a chance. Here’s an idea:

How about if we all adopt a "Wait 24 Hours Before Thinking Something Is True" rule?

— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) February 17, 2017

And once again we have to ask the question. Given “fake news reporting” like this, is it any wonder the public no longer trusts the media?