Erik Wemple calls out firefighting 'stickler for public transparency' Brian Stelter for refusing to comment on CNN's Steele dossier disaster

The Washington Post’s Erik Wemple recently looked critically at the DOJ’s targeting of James O’Keefe and Project Veritas.

But first and foremost, Wemple is a media critic. And he has a few bones to pick with CNN, and particularly with self-righteous firefighter Brian Stelter:

In a CNN piece on the 'reckoning' over the Steele dossier, CNN sidesteps a reckoning with the Steele dossier: https://t.co/hBFSIv55RW

— ErikWemple (@ErikWemple) November 23, 2021

Wemple writes:

We asked Stelter to explain the dossier’s omission. “No on the record comment,” replied the stickler for public transparency via DM.

There’ll be no speculation here on why Stelter glossed over this story, though we should note: It would have made for some interesting television, given CNN’s own role in hyping the alleged “corroboration” of a document that has fallen apart bit by bit ever since its January 2017 publication by BuzzFeed News.

This isn’t the first time that Wemple has smacked Stelter and CNN for journalistic malpractice:

• WaPo media critic Erik Wemple tells CNN to ‘come clean’ about their egregiously bad reporting on the Steele dossier
• WaPo’s Eric Wemple notes that CNN went with the ‘GOP seizes’ route on newly disclosed footnotes on Steele dossier
• The WaPo’s Erik Wemple tells Brian Stelter that CNN has a ‘major black eye’ for Chris Cuomo’s ‘love-a-thon’ interviews of his brother
• Disgusted WaPo media critic Erik Wemple says ‘CNN must investigate Chris Cuomo,’ but why on earth would they?

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And it’s a safe bet that this won’t be the last time, either. Lord knows CNN and Stelter provide plenty of ammo on a regular basis.

“We asked Stelter to explain the dossier’s omission. ‘No on the record comment,’ replied the stickler for public transparency via DM.” Ooof. https://t.co/2bAoDgsNrs

— Joe Concha (@JoeConchaTV) November 23, 2021

From WaPo’s @ErikWemple: “We asked Stelter to explain the dossier’s omission. ‘No on the record comment,’ replied the stickler for public transparency via DM.”

What an embarrassment.https://t.co/TJIFwkClJy

— Cameron Cawthorne (@Cam_Cawthorne) November 23, 2021

Stelter could have focused on the debunked Steele dossier this past Sunday and his employer’s obsession with it, but he thought it was more important to have Nikole Hannah-Jones on his show.

— Cameron Cawthorne (@Cam_Cawthorne) November 23, 2021

Because Reliable Sources.

LOL @BrianStelter https://t.co/gudyesp3yy

— Jerry Christmas 🎄🎅🏽 (@JerryDunleavy) November 23, 2021

@brianstelter is a coward and a hypocrite. https://t.co/CEegiJRpsd

— mace wilkerson (@macebuddy) November 23, 2021

Now that is Real News, Mr. President.