When Sam Nunberg told a CNN reporter that he wasn’t about to obey Robert Mueller’s subpoena, in the blink of an eye, he became a star on cable TV and Twitter.

But, of course, complying with subpoenas isn’t optional. Nunberg was just an awkward, unhappy, vexed soul bemoaning his fate to reporters. He wasn’t a threat to anyone. But CNN, MSNBC, NBC, the Washington Post and the New York Times made it look like the whole world was on fire.

The next day Nunberg about-faced. Defiance vanished. The threat evaporated. And the media set out to start another fire – on MSNBC, Joe Scarborough reported ‘Trump makes North Korea decision because of Stormy Daniels.’