Trump baselessly implies CNN was tipped off to Roger Stone's indictment. CNN explains it was just good reporting.
President Trump on Friday lashed out at CNN after the indictment of ally Roger Stone, suggesting the network must have been tipped off about his arrest.
In Trump's first tweet responding to Stone's arrest, he called Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian election interference a witch hunt, but he also pointed a finger at CNN. A journalist from the network earlier in the morning had been able to capture footage of Stone being arrested at his Florida home.
The theory that CNN was tipped off, possibly by the FBI itself, had picked up quite a bit of steam in the hours before Trump's tweet, being promoted by conservative pundits like Greta Van Susteren.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
But CNN denied this, with the network instead citing "determined reporting and interpreting clues revealed in the course of events."
In fact, CNN's David Shortell had reported on air that a crew from the network staked out Stone's home because of "reporter's instinct," with the network having flagged some grand jury activity on Thursday and anticipating a possible indictment for Stone. CNN reporter Shimon Prokupecz had explained on Don Lemon's show the night before that they noticed Mueller was convening a grand jury on a Thursday, which is not typical. "This could give us a big clue that perhaps something is coming," Prokupecz said, adding that the stepson of Jerome Corsi, an associate of Stone's, had just recently testified.
CNN media reporter Oliver Darcy on Friday criticized Trump for spreading this "baseless" conspiracy theory, adding, "Color me shocked!"
-
How the FCC’s ‘equal time’ rule worksIn the Spotlight The law is at the heart of the Colbert-CBS conflict
-
What is the endgame in the DHS shutdown?Today’s Big Question Democrats want to rein in ICE’s immigration crackdown
-
‘Poor time management isn’t just an inconvenience’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Witkoff and Kushner tackle Ukraine, Iran in GenevaSpeed Read Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner held negotiations aimed at securing a nuclear deal with Iran and an end to Russia’s war in Ukraine
-
Pentagon spokesperson forced out as DHS’s resignsSpeed Read Senior military adviser Col. David Butler was fired by Pete Hegseth and Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin is resigning
-
Judge orders Washington slavery exhibit restoredSpeed Read The Trump administration took down displays about slavery at the President’s House Site in Philadelphia
-
Hyatt chair joins growing list of Epstein files losersSpeed Read Thomas Pritzker stepped down as executive chair of the Hyatt Hotels Corporation over his ties with Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell
-
Judge blocks Hegseth from punishing Kelly over videoSpeed Read Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth pushed for the senator to be demoted over a video in which he reminds military officials they should refuse illegal orders
-
Trump’s EPA kills legal basis for federal climate policySpeed Read The government’s authority to regulate several planet-warming pollutants has been repealed
-
House votes to end Trump’s Canada tariffsSpeed Read Six Republicans joined with Democrats to repeal the president’s tariffs
-
Bondi, Democrats clash over Epstein in hearingSpeed Read Attorney General Pam Bondi ignored survivors of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and demanded that Democrats apologize to Trump
