As Twitchy told you last night, the DOJ seized phone and email records of New York Times reporter Ali Watkins in relation to an investigation into Senate intel staffer James Wolfe, who has been charged with leaking to the press. See, Watkins was reportedly romantically involved with Wolfe.
But just in case you thought the plot couldn’t get any thicker … buckle up. Because before working at the New York Times, Watkins was a reporter at BuzzFeed. Last night, BuzzFeed’s editor in chief Ben Smith said he was “deeply troubled” by the DOJ’s “interfering with” Watkins’ “constitutional right to gather information about her own government”:
This story concerns a reporter's work @BuzzFeedNews. We are deeply troubled by what looks like a case of law enforcement interfering with a reporter’s constitutional right to gather information about her own government. https://t.co/5nus2syio3
— Ben Smith (@BuzzFeedBen) June 8, 2018
But Smith apparently left out some very important information:
SCOOP: BuzzFeed News confirms to me that its editors knew about the romantic relationship between Ali Watkins and James Wolfe, chose not to disclose this fact on her articles anyway in what appears to be a major ethical lapse.
My latest via @DailyCaller:https://t.co/qw9LBaPsUK
— Joe Gabriel Simonson (@SaysSimonson) June 8, 2018
Uhhh …
— Chris Pandolfo (@ChrisCPandolfo) June 8, 2018
More from the Daily Caller:
Watkins told her BuzzFeed editors about her relationship with the individual, James Wolfe, who the Department of Justice has charged with lying to investigators during a leak probe, according to The New York Times, where Watkins now works as a national security reporter.
BuzzFeed Editor-In-Chief Ben Smith said he would “not comment at all on a reporter’s sources in the middle of an unjustifiable leak hunt” when The Daily Caller News Foundation asked about the extent the organization knew about Watkins’ behavior to corroborate The Times’ reporting.
…
Later, a BuzzFeed spokesman told TheDCNF that the company does not dispute The Times’ reporting on Wolfe’s indictment, meaning that at least some BuzzFeed editors were aware of Watkins’ relationship with the Senate Intelligence aide.
It was never disclosed in any of the pieces Watkins wrote for BuzzFeed that she had a conflict of interest with an individual that provided her with information. If her editors knew about this relationship, it remains unclear why they did not make this known to readers or prohibit her from covering the Senate Intelligence committee.
Dude.
When asked if BuzzFeed disputes The Times' reporting, a spokesman gave me a one-word anwer: "No."
— Joe Gabriel Simonson (@SaysSimonson) June 8, 2018
I've defended BuzzFeed often, and I still think they do a lot of great work. But I just don't know how you excuse this.
— Joe Gabriel Simonson (@SaysSimonson) June 8, 2018
It certainly looks bad.
BuzzFeed's position on this issue is that it remains unclear whether Watkins ever used any information she got from Wolfe in her reporting.
— Joe Gabriel Simonson (@SaysSimonson) June 8, 2018
But if she was involved with Wolfe and her editors knew, and they didn’t see a problem with that … wow.
My God https://t.co/sGqYM2BAYu
— Comfortably Smug (@ComfortablySmug) June 8, 2018
Wow. Unsurprising but wow. https://t.co/h5loIzQiNi
— David Reaboi (@davereaboi) June 8, 2018
I'm shocked that @buzzfeedben is unethical.*
…
…
*Not shocked at all, actually. https://t.co/DIcTr7BdPo
— RBe (@RBPundit) June 8, 2018
This seems pretty newsworthy, no?
genuine question, @brianstelter, do you think this is a problem? will cnn be covering it?
— Joe Gabriel Simonson (@SaysSimonson) June 8, 2018
also I'd love to come on your show to discuss!
— Joe Gabriel Simonson (@SaysSimonson) June 8, 2018
Well, one thing’s for sure: This is likely gonna get a lot messier before it’s all over.
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Related:
Now THAT’s a DOOZY! Ali Watkins’ 2013 tweet WINS most poorly aged tweet EVER (hands DOWN!)
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