CNN debases itself by acting as DOJ’s free PR contractor

CNN needs to reconsider its relationships with some sources. Its reputation as the Justice Department’s go-to source for spin and friendly reporting has taken a toll.

On April 30th, daily signala founding of the conservative Heritage Foundation, has landed scoop. Kristen Clark, the assistant attorney general for civil rights at the U.S. Department of Justice, lied under oath during his Senate confirmation.

Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) specifically told then-candidate Clark, “Since you were a legal adult, have you ever been arrested or charged with a violent crime against someone?” ” he asked.

In a written response filed under oath, Mr. Clark simply answered “no.”

Her answer was false.

Ms Clark was arrested in 2006 after a domestic dispute in which she claimed her then-husband attacked her with a knife. Her criminal case against Clark was launched later that year, but was ultimately dismissed without trial. Ms Clark then sought a “police and court record expungement order”, which she was granted in 2008. Her divorce was finalized the following year.

The Daily Signal began investigating Clark’s endorsement in February. The results of the survey were announced in April. All the while, the Justice Department ignored multiple requests for comment from the magazine. But then the talks broke down, and the senators who confirmed Clark questioned top officials at the department.

Finally, this became an issue that the Department of Justice could no longer ignore. So what did Clark do? She rushed to CNN with an “exclusive” statement in which she claimed that she did not disclose her arrest when asked under oath because she is a victim of domestic violence.

CNN somehow failed to realize that this was an insult, an option for sympathetic reporting by those in power. The network was cleared for use by the Justice Department, one of the most powerful organizations in the world, because officials wanted proper crisis communications. Even worse than churning out incredibly sympathetic reporting for the benefit of federal authorities, CNN downplayed the Daily Signal’s original reporting.

“Kristen Clark, head of the Justice Department’s civil rights division, said in an unusual personal statement shared with CNN that she is a victim of long-term domestic violence and that Senate confirmation would expunge that period. The CNN report, titled “Exclusive: Justice Department Civil Rights Leader Says She Was a Victim of Abuse in Extraordinary Statement,” begins: It is written like this.

In a statement to CNN, Clark said she is leaving that “horrifying and traumatic time” behind her for her own “personal health, healing, and well-being,” adding, “I did not believe during my confirmation. ‘ he claimed. I no longer feel obligated to share things that have been completely erased from my past through the process. ”

In a statement to the Daily Signal, Clark’s ex-husband denies abuse allegations.

From there, CNN’s reporting continued to dismiss the Daily Signal’s original journalism as just another example of an “incident.”Conservatives pounce” What’s more, CNN didn’t even bother linking to the scoop written by Mary Margaret Olohan of the Daily Signal. (Full disclosure: Olohan is a regular guest speaker at events hosted by my organization.)

CNN reports, “While Clark’s arrest has now been rescinded and reportedly occurred during a domestic dispute, right-wing media outlets and others allege she lied during her 2021 Senate confirmation hearing. There was an immediate uproar among members of Congress, with some calling for his resignation.”

“Do you claim she lied?” What words should be used when a person intentionally gives a false answer to a question?

Let’s put aside the question of whether we should call it a “lie” or not. Put aside the legalities surrounding deleted records. Mr. Clark is an employee of the Department of Justice. Did she think this would never come out? She should know better about the dangers of playing fast and loose in Senate confirmation hearings. And what kind of people are employed at the Department of Justice if she didn’t know better?

Perhaps more charitable critics of Clark could find a way to avoid labeling her answers as lies, but at least her answers should be clear to those in such a position of power. I must admit that this is a very unwise person to be appointed, in fact, too unwise. She seems hardly suited for the role.

Let’s review this again for clarity. A senior Justice Department official lied under oath. Asked to explain the matter, the department blasted the reporter who exposed Clark’s lies. The department issued an “exclusive” statement to CNN saying the story was too big to dismiss.

The Justice Department’s defense is that yes, the official did commit some perjury, but since she is an alleged victim of domestic violence, it’s okay. CNN published the perjured official’s statement without verifying it. CNN then attacks others who did the journalism that forced this statement on CNN in the first place.

I don’t know what CNN thinks they accomplished here, but it wasn’t journalism.

Beckett Adams is a writer and program director at the National Journalism Center in Washington.