CNN’s Andrew Kaczynski Calls Out Tucker Carlson’s ‘Disgraceful Lie’ on Russia Reporting
CNN’s Andrew Kaczynski called out Tucker Carlson for his suggestion that the FBI leaked details of Roger Stone’s arrest to CNN, which exclusively covered the bust with a crew that was staked outside the Palm Beach home.
On Wednesday night, Carlson once again questioned CNN’s remarkable reporting, noting that website The Federalist had been denied a FOIA request to the FBI for any emails sent by the agency to CNN that might reveal a leak. He then noted that CNN Contributor Josh Campbell is a former employee of Special Counsel Robert Mueller, strongly suggesting that the news of Stone’s arrest came from the former FBI agent. You can watch that segment above, via Fox News.
Kaczynski took issue with this, calling it a “disgraceful lie” in a Thursday morning tweet.
A disgraceful lie about strong reporting from my colleagues.
Here’s what really happened: https://t.co/whQywEg3ONhttps://t.co/wOdkGJuHvJ
— andrew kaczynski (@KFILE) April 4, 2019
Kaczynksi linked to a CNN.com report penned by senior media correspondent Brian Stelter addressing conspiracy theories pushed by CNN’s critics. Here’s the nut of the explanation of how a CNN crew got the exclusive footage of Stone’s arrest:
Stone is a notorious media manipulator. In the months leading up to his January 25 arrest, he knew he was in Robert Mueller’s sights. He campaigned against the special counsel probe, sowed doubt about its legitimacy, blamed the “deep state,” attacked the media, and raised money for his legal defense fund.
So he should not have been surprised when FBI agents showed up at his home.
CNN wasn’t surprised. A producer and photojournalist staked out Stone’s home about an hour before the raid. They were following their “reporter’s instinct,” producer David Shortell said, that Stone might be taken into custody.
“The whole Russia team thought maybe something was happening,” Shortell said shortly after the raid. “There was some unusual grand jury activity in Washington, D.C. yesterday.” There were also some “other signs” of movement in the Stone case.
The result was a big exclusive for CNN: Pre-dawn video of the FBI arriving at Stone’s home.
CNN’s coverage of CNN’s coverage is not exactly a fair and balanced report, however, nor is the critical analysis by CNN’s competitor Fox News.
So there we have it: there is no real way of knowing just how CNN knew to stake out Stone’s house pre-arrest, though their journalist research seems to make far more sense than the explanation and finger-pointing by notorious liar Roger Stone. Nonetheless, media beef between networks such as this will never not be covered by Mediaite.
We report, you decide.
