CNN’s Kaitlan Collins Draws Heat from Conservatives Over Deleted Post Which Shared Link to Pro-Luigi Mangione Website
CNN’s Kaitlan Collins is being called out by conservatives over a deleted post in which she shared the link to a website established by Luigi Mangione’s defense team — which supports the accused killer and contains information on how to donate to his legal defense fund. (Mangione is awaiting trial on charges that he murdered United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson on Dec. 4 in New York City.)
In a post Friday afternoon to X, Collins wrote, “Luigi Mangione’s legal defense team has launched a new website today.” She then posted the link without any further context about the site’s contents.
Conservatives accused Collins of promoting a fundraising site for Mangione’s defense. To be clear, the website Collins linked to essentially functions as a one-stop shop for those following the case to learn about the accused killer’s defense, track the schedule for upcoming proceedings, and hear directly from his attorneys. While the site is pro-Mangione, it does not directly raise funds for Mangione’s legal team — though it does prominently include information on how people can contribute to his defense fund, complete with a link to a third-party website.
Critics on the right, though, believe Collins was passing the hat:
Collins flatly rejected the claim she was promoting the fundraising component of the Mangione team’s site by responding directly to
the New York Post’s X account — which linked to an article about her deleted post.
“I posted that his attorneys created a website, which is newsworthy and other outlets have also reported on,” Collins said. “In no way did I share a fundraising link for him.”
In a statement provided to Mediaite, a CNN spokesperson added, “This was nothing more than a social post reporting news surrounding the trial.”
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