Report: White House, State Department Coordinated with Network on Email Coverage
Just days after Hillary Clinton first addressed the media about her use of a private email server while secretary of state, her successor had absolutely no intention of taking any questions about it.
So, State Department and White House staffers pressured CBS to avoid asking those questions during Kerry’s appearance on its Sunday political program, Face the Nation. As the Daily Caller’s Chuck Ross reports:
“Think we can get this done so [Kerry] is not asked about email,” Jennifer Palmieri, then the White House’s communications director, wrote to then-State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki on March 12, 2015, two days after Clinton held her first press conference to answer questions about her email practices.
The emails were obtained by the Republican National Committee in a lawsuit and viewed by The Daily Caller. The Wall Street Journal and Washington Examiner also reported on the documents.
Involved on one email chain discussing Kerry’s CBS appearance was Benjamin Rhodes, President Obama’s deputy national security advisor for strategic communications.
Rhodes’ brother David is the president of CBS News.
The Examiner notes that Kerry was not asked about Clinton’s emails during his March 15 appearance on “Face the Nation.”
