CNN’s April Ryan Bizarrely Calls on Reporters to Stop Reporting on Leaks About Biden

CNN analyst April Ryan called on Friday for reporters to stop leaking information about President-elect Joe Biden.

She made the remarks in reference to a meeting Biden held with civil rights leaders on Tuesday. Leaked audio of the meeting revealed Biden telling the group Republicans “beat the living hell” out of Democrats by “talking about defunding the police.” Biden added, “We’re not. We’re talking about holding them accountable.”

Ryan commented on the leak in a message on Twitter, writing, “The question is who leaked this and why?”

Responding to Ryan’s message, Motherboard reporter Edward Ongweso Jr. sarcastically wrote, “It is irresponsible and sets a dangerous precedent for journalists covering the incoming administration to be able to use secretly recorded conversations in their stories. To parse out Biden’s thoughts and anticipate his policy commitments, you must go through proper channels.”

“Agreed,” Ryan wrote back — responding earnestly to Ongweso’s tongue-in-cheek message. “You hit the nail in (sic) the head!” she added in a second reply. “This is not good at all.”

“Revealing a contradiction between Biden’s private thoughts and public statements is dangerous because it erodes public trust in the president, the office, and the media itself,” Ongweso subsequently wrote, continuing the gag. Ryan “liked” that tweet also.

The comments were panned by other Twitter users. “This is one of the most shocking things I’ve seen on this website,” Glenn Greenwald wrote in a message highlighting the exchange.