CNN accuses Trump of 'deflecting' from Russia dossier report

(Image credit: Timothy A. Clary/AFP/Getty Images)

published 11 January 2017

In his first press conference in six months, President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday got into a sparring match with CNN reporter Jim Acosta. Trump refused to respond to repeated questions from Acosta because he works for CNN, which on Tuesday published an article detailing a report from U.S. officials that Russia might possess incriminating information that could potentially be used to blackmail the president-elect.

While multiple news organizations — including CNN — stated that the corresponding intelligence dossier contained unverified information, BuzzFeed News on Tuesday night chose to publish the document in full. The dossier was allegedly provided by a British intelligence source that U.S. officials deem credible, but was not published by CNN with its initial report as its contents were unconfirmed. Still, by breaking the news, CNN apparently drew Trump's ire, and the news organization issued a statement Wednesday after Trump's press conference to stand by its "carefully sourced reporting":

And as Bloomberg reporter Jennifer Epstein noted, Trump wasn't the only target of CNN's statement. Kimberly Alters