Sensationalized Reporting Debunked Again

Last night, CNN quietly posted a 5 paragraph story that totally disqualifies a week of “news” coverage.

In May, CNN led with this story in which they claim AG Sessions “fail[ed]” to disclose contacts on security clearance forms: “First on CNN: AG Sessions did not disclose Russia meetings in security clearance form, DOJ says”

The story stated:

• “Attorney General Jeff Sessions did not disclose meetings he had last year with Russian officials when he applied for his security clearance, the Justice Department told CNN Wednesday. Sessions, who met with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak at least two times last year, didn't note those interactions on the form, which requires him to list ‘any contact’ he or his family had with a ‘foreign government’ or its ‘representatives’ over the past seven years, officials said.”
• “The new information from the Justice Department is the latest example of Sessions failing to disclose contacts he had with Russian officials.”

That’s contradicted by CNN’s “report” last night that the FBI had told AG Sessions he never had to disclose the meetings in question in the first place. What CNN didn’t make clear was that the Department of Justice told CNN this back in May, and they chose to move forward with this false, speculative report anyway.

The reality is that the only story here is a failure by CNN in reporting this false information from a leak in the first place.

CNN’s sensationalized reporting in May was followed with dozens of other stories and heavy TV coverage, including:

• WaPo: Sessions didn’t disclose meetings with Russian officials on security clearance form
• Politico: Sessions' background check form omitted meetings with Russian
• Huffington Post: Jeff Sessions Reportedly Failed To List Russian Ambassador Meetings On Security Form
• ABC News: Sessions did not disclose meetings with Russian ambassador on security clearance forms
• BuzzFeed: Attorney General Jeff Sessions Did Not Disclose Russia Meetings On Security Clearance Form

Will all these stories be corrected and a retraction be run on CNN today?  We’re not holding our breath.

See below for the story last night:   

FBI email: Sessions wasn't required to disclose foreign contacts for security clearance
Evan Perez
CNN
December 11, 2017

A newly released document shows that the FBI told an aide to Attorney General Jeff Sessions that Sessions wasn't required to disclose foreign contacts that occurred in the course of carrying out his government duties when he was a senator.

The FBI email from March bolsters the explanation by the Justice Department for why Sessions didn't disclose contacts with the Russian ambassador in his application for a US security clearance. When the omission of the foreign contacts on the form was first reported by CNN in May, the Justice Department said Sessions' office was advised by the FBI that he didn't need to disclose the meetings.

An FBI agent, whose name isn't made public in the document released by the bureau, was responding in March to a query from Sessions' assistant. The assistant sought confirmation of what she said was an earlier conversation on the matter. At the time, news of Sessions' Russian contacts had recently become public and prompted fierce political criticism.

The agent didn't recall the earlier conversation but affirmed that "he was not required to list foreign government contacts while in official government business unless he developed personal relationships from such contacts." …

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