In Monday night’s “Reliable Sources” newsletter, Oliver Darcy, filling in for Brian Stelter writes that Lanny Davis’ admission to BuzzFeed on Monday that he lied to CNN as a source “doesn’t mean, however, that CNN’s story is incorrect”:
Sigh. We get the “multiple sources” part. You do you, CNN. But Darcy and Stelter and everyone else at the #FactsFirst network is avoiding talking about this line from their big scoop that they insist is still true:
Amazingly so. Here’s the line in the CNN story in which Davis now admits he was an anonymous source:
“Contacted by CNN, one of Cohen's attorneys, Lanny Davis, declined to comment.”https://t.co/zAHaerunDB pic.twitter.com/rBfNlBNogU
— Ryan Goodman (@rgoodlaw) August 28, 2018
Writing that Davis declined to comment while at the same time using him as an anonymous source IS THE PROBLEM. From Politico’s Marc Caputo:
Lanny Davis said he was a source who lied to CNN. That’s on him.
But CNN in the story in question wrote “one of Cohen's attorneys, Lanny Davis, declined to comment.”
That means CNN might have misled readers about talking to Davis. Thats a bigger problem than a source-burn https://t.co/l7BXtzHU6m
— Marc Caputo (@MarcACaputo) August 28, 2018
Darcy, Stelter and CNN need to explain this part, and they’re not:
There are possible (though perhaps flimsy) explanations about what happened. Davis obviously has an honesty problem. But CNN now needs to explain how it did NOT mislead its audience in suggesting Davis didn’t speak to them when, in fact, he apparently did.
— Marc Caputo (@MarcACaputo) August 28, 2018
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And if this is the explanation, just say so. What say you Jim Sciutto, Carl Bernstein and Marshall Cohen?
I do not do this. My best guess (in a light most favorable to them) is that, with a multiple source byline, one hand did not know what the other was doing, that the info was in different silos and that this fell through the cracks as Davis played double agent
— Marc Caputo (@MarcACaputo) August 28, 2018
CNN has other problems as well since Davis was allowed to lie on air:
https://twitter.com/YossiGestetner/status/1034264186866610176
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Related:
FACTS FIRST: Lanny Davis outs himself as CNN's anonymous source on Trump Tower meeting https://t.co/MAXOE79uLm
— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) August 28, 2018
SUCKERS! Scumbag Lanny Davis' GoFundMe for Michael Cohen may be the GREATEST con ever (here's why!) https://t.co/8L8eTwLPX3
— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) August 27, 2018
FACEPLANT IMINENT? Brian Stelter apple-bananas himself over latest Lanny Davis-Michael Cohen reporting https://t.co/Fzh1RqoAD8
— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) August 27, 2018
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