According to the report, the White House learned through the spying how “how Mr. Netanyahu and his advisers had leaked details of the US-Iran negotiations—learned through Israeli spying operations—to undermine the talks; coordinated talking points with Jewish-American groups against the deal; and asked undecided lawmakers what it would take to win their votes.”

...

Though Obama promised in 2013 to curb American spying on foreign leaders, following revelations of NSA spying on allies leaked by whisteblower Edward Snowden, an official said the idea of stopping tracking Netanyahu was barely entertained.

“Going dark on Bibi? Of course we wouldn’t do that,” the paper quoted as senior US administration official saying, using a nickname for the prime minister.

DICKERSON: Want to play a little more from the focus groups, because a lot of what motivates them that you discovered is an anger about President Obama. So let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LUNTZ: And I want a word or phrase to describe Barack Obama.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Pathetic.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's a great speaker.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Jellyfish marshmallow.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Annoying.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Delusional.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Naive.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Unbelievable. I just can't believe him.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Lost.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Good talker and tries hard. Out of touch.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A politician.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Full of himself. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Clueless.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ineffective.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Elitist.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Doesn't respect American values.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Overwhelmingly cocky.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Anti-American.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Un-American.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Amateur.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Zero leadership.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Out of his depth.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Arrogant.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Still waiting on this hope and change.

LUNTZ: Anti-American, un-American, Barack Obama. Seriously?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, absolutely.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DICKERSON: So, Frank, I would suggest that obviously they don't like the president, but could any other Republican -- why couldn't any other Republican just grab onto that feeling? Why is Donald Trump particularly...

LUNTZ: Because no other Republican is willing to say the things that Donald Trump says. I don't believe there would be a Trump candidacy if there wasn't an Obama presidency.

And Trump's willingness to say things that we all would say go beyond the pale, that we would say is unacceptable in American politics, for these voters, is exactly what they want to hear, and no other candidate is talking that way.

DICKERSON: So, it's not just that they dislike the president, but that Donald Trump is the opposite of the qualities they see in the president.

Let me ask you about any other candidate in the Republican field. Was there any purchase for any other Republican candidate in that room?

Another former staffer said FitzGibbon didn't react well when he was told about sexual harassment allegations against someone else at the firm. He was angry and dismissive, yelling about how he didn't believe that such a "good guy" could do something like that. FitzGibbon also had issues with some anti-rape campaigns the firm ran, according to the staffer. At one point he confronted an employee about the campaign in front of about 10 other people. He questioned the tactics of holding "alleged" rapists accountable, talked about how false rape accusations had ruined his friend's life, and said that being accused of rape was actually worse than being raped.

...


"In more than a decade in the movement, I've never worked at a progressive organization or campaign where sexual harassment wasn't an issue of some kind," said one female progressive strategist who asked not to be named. "I think it's a lot harder for progressive organizations to create a space that's free from that than people think it is."

...

Another progressive strategist recalled moving to DC and having three different women give her lists of which members of Congress she should avoid being alone in a room with. The lists included members from both parties, and there were enough of them that all three lists had different names.

Enduring inappropriate advances from men in power is "bipartisan and almost like a rite of passage in DC from what female friends have told me," Mary said. And of course, politics isn't the only place where men get away with routinely abusing their power over women who fear not being believed, or fear retaliation because of a man's influence. Just look at Bill Cosby .

But when these problems occur even at organizations where feminism and inclusivity are taken for granted as basic values, it shows how stubborn and persistent sexism can be. It's not necessarily that the movement is hypocritical; it's just made up of human beings who were raised in a deeply patriarchal culture. "We all grew up with these prejudices, and fixing them isn't easy," said one progressive strategist. "Supporting the right causes isn't enough. This is hard work, and people who want a pass on that need to get out of the way."

Another former staffer said FitzGibbon didn't react well when he was told about sexual harassment allegations against someone else at the firm. He was angry and dismissive, yelling about how he didn't believe that such a "good guy" could do something like that. FitzGibbon also had issues with some anti-rape campaigns the firm ran, according to the staffer. At one point he confronted an employee about the campaign in front of about 10 other people. He questioned the tactics of holding "alleged" rapists accountable, talked about how false rape accusations had ruined his friend's life, and said that being accused of rape was actually worse than being raped.

"A lot of people heard that. How do you report when you know that's the feeling? Who wants to put themselves through that?" the staffer said.

Tardiff said FitzGibbon's personality and the firm's structure also made it difficult for anyone to come forward. "There was no real HR. Everything flowed through or from Trevor," she said. "His tendency to respond extremely personally to any criticism also fostered an environment where speaking up — in basically any situation — came with the risk of him lashing out in a way that would make things even more difficult."

The company did have someone with an HR director title, another staffer said, but that employee came on board in a different position, and a lot of people didn't know she had the HR role. The company also never held a training on sexual harassment, despite repeated requests from staff.