Last week, CNN global affairs correspondent Elise Labott—who according to her Twitter bio is also a self-appraised “truth seeker”—was suspended from the network for two weeks for editorializing on social media. The offending tweet was this: “House passes bill that could limit Syrian refugees. Statue of Liberty bows head in anguish.” At first glance, this punishment appeared grossly unfair. Not because Labott isn’t obviously biased, but according to CNN she apparently violated network policy that demands reporters not appear “predictably partisan.” By that standard, it’s a mystery why Labott would be punished while scores of other CNN employees get off scot-free.
However, not long afterward, Labott went from being caught exhibiting garden variety liberalism to being utterly professionally embarrassed. Emails obtained by the website Gawker show multiple instances of Labott tweeting messages directly suggested by Hillary Clinton aide Philippe Reines, including criticism of Senator Rand Paul for speaking out against Clinton’s conduct following a Benghazi hearing, as well as regurgitating the former secretary of state’s dubious defenses of the State Department’s internal Benghazi investigation. Behind the scenes, Labott’s tone with Reines was as obsequious as you could imagine. “[Hillary] was great. well done. I hope you are going to have a big drink tonight,” she told Reines of Clinton’s performance at the Benghazi hearings. Reines responded to her by patting himself on the back for suggesting a “good tweet.”
And Labott isn’t the only journalist exposed by this latest batch of emails. In another email obtained by Gawker, Politico’s Mike Allen pitches Reines on an interview with Chelsea Clinton and, of his own volition, makes some pretty astonishing concessions:
Note that even with a promise of the most favorable terms imaginable, Chelsea Clinton turned down Allen’s interview request. Five weeks after he made the request to Reines, Allen coauthored a Politico column decrying the Obama administration’s predilection for the “super-safe, softball interview” and noting that “the kid glove interview of Obama and outgoing Secretary of State Hillary Clinton by Steve Kroft of CBS’s 60 Minutes is simply the latest in a long line of these.”
And don’t expect reporters to show an ounce of shame over this episode, either. Politico’s Glenn Thrush went on—where else?—Twitter and waved off the notion that these emails would be a problem for his peers and colleagues: “People hate media and will assume the worst. Most of this stuff is just everyday tradecraft—same BS as any job.” We hate to break it to Thrush, but in any job, betraying the trust of others to sniff the throne of powerful people is actually considered unethical. If Beltway reporters still had any interest getting questions answered, they might pause to ask why “people hate media and will assume the worst” before using their reputation as an excuse to justify their behavior.
As for the rest of America, still tethered to basic standards of professionalism and decency, they’re right to be worried that our political media are irredeemably corrupt.
