Rush Limbaugh took his attacks on the Obama administration to an absurd new level by mining information from an obscure right-wing blog whose allegations surrounding the manufactured Benghazi scandal offer only the pretense of credibility. The story from Conservative Report Online relied on anonymous sources who claim that Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett was the decision-maker during the Benghazi attacks -- a claim Limbaugh exploited to argue that Jarrett issued a stand down order to American armed forces that night.

On his August 6 radio program, Rush Limbaugh used a posting by Chip Jones on the Conservative Report to claim that Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett ordered U.S. security forces to “stand down” during the September 11, 2012 attacks on a diplomatic facility in Benghazi -- something that never happened. Limbaugh says the “shocking report” claims, “Valerie Jarrett gave the orders to stand down in Benghazi to all the -- Valerie Jarrett who constitutionally is not in the chain of command and cannot do that!” Rush continues, “And that's why this, if true, is a bombshell!”

According to Jones, “confidential sources close to Conservative Report have confirmed that Valerie Jarrett was the key decision-maker for the administration, the night of the Benghazi terrorist attack on 9/11/2012.” Jones offered no evidence to support his claim other than the word of anonymous sources, but Limbaugh still ran with it, concluding that Valerie Jarrett gave a “stand down” order that was never actually given.

Jones has a history of making absurd, hyperbolic claims about the Obama administration, and about President Obama himself, whom he calls “the Redd Foxx President.” For example, Jones once pointed to the security details that protect Obama administration officials such as Ambassador Susan Rice and Attorney General Eric Holder to ask, “Is President Obama choosing to value people of color over Caucasians?”

Right wing media have demonstrated an uncanny willingness to run with conspiracy theories that fit their anti-Obama narratives, regardless of the lack of evidence that supports their claims and even if those claims defy reality. Limbaugh's dalliance with Chip Jones and the Conservative Report is no exception.