Editors at BuzzFeed were reportedly aware that one of their reporters engaged in a years-long romantic relationship with one of her top sources, the former director of security for the Senate Intelligence Committee who was indicted and arrested Thursday night for lying to FBI agents.
According to the Daily Caller, Ali Watkins, employed as a national security reporter by BuzzFeed from November 2015 to May 2017, informed her superiors of her relationship with James Wolfe, yet none of her stories ever made note of the serious conflict of interest inherent in her covering the Senate Intelligence Committee.
A BuzzFeed spokesman confirmed that some editors were in fact aware of the relationship, but the Daily Caller noted the spokesman did not give a reason why she was allowed to cover the committee or why none of her pieces noted the conflict.
BuzzFeed editor-in-chief Ben Smith declined to comment on any of the outlet’s sources “in the middle of an unjustifiable leak hunt.”
“I am baffled that the FBI and Justice Department are going to these dangerous lengths over a story that points to public court documents that describe Russian spies approaching a Trump adviser, who himself is quoted confirming his role in the episode,” he continued. “I’d like to know why that should be secret.”
Wolfe was arrested and indicted Thursday night for providing false statements to FBI agents “about his repeated contacts with three reporters, including through his use of encrypted messaging applications.”
Wolfe is also accused of making false statements about providing “non-public information related to matters occurring before the [Senate Intelligence Committee]” to two additional reporters.
As a part of their investigation, the Justice Department secretly collected Watkins’ phone and email records.
