Elections

Politico Reporter Sends Story To Hillary Aide For Approval, Admits He’s A ‘Hack’

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Alex Pfeiffer White House Correspondent
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A Politico reporter has been caught sending his journalism to Hillary Clinton’s campaign chairman for approval.

In an April 30, 2015 email, released Monday by WikiLeaks, Politico’s chief political correspondent Glenn Thrush asked John Podesta to approve his writing pre-publication. Thrush begged Podesta not to tell anyone he had shared the copy and referred to himself as “a hack” in the email exchange.

“No worries Because I have become a hack I will send u the whole section that pertains to u,” Thrush wrote to Podesta. “Please don’t share or tell anyone I did this Tell me if I fucked up anything.”

The Politico reporter then included five paragraphs from a story he would publish May 1 titled: “Hillary’s big-money dilemma.” Podesta replied that, off-the-record, there were “no problems.”

The Daily Caller reached out to Politico about the leaked email.

Politico spokesman Brad Dayspring sent the following reply:

Hi Alex,

Glenn has a self-deprecating sense of humor, one of the many blessings of being born and raised in Brooklyn. You know Alex, Oscar Wilde once pointed out that people are never so trivial as when they take themselves seriously. That wisdom seems to apply here.

The bottom line is that Glenn got the chairman of the notoriously secretive Clinton campaign – who is not typically a font of detail – to confirm a bunch of inside information that he culled from other sources. I can speak with firsthand knowledge and experience that Glenn does this with everybody, on both sides of the aisle. Glenn is one of the top political reporters in the country, in no small part because he understands that it is his job is to get inside information, not appear perfect when someone illegally hacks emails.

Curiously, since you’ve referred to Glenn as a “fucking joke” on social media, one has to wonder whether you might be approaching this line of questioning with your own biases. Is it standard practice at the Daily Caller to assign reporters to cover subjects whom they’ve described in such a manner?

“You’re right. That was unfounded speculation, but now we have proof,” TheDC replied.

That’s when Thrush responded, “If I am to be defined by my enemies, happy to have you.”

Dayspring and Thrush declined to respond to follow-up questions, including:

  • Can Thrush provide specific examples of Republican campaign chairmen he’s treated the same way by email?
  • Dayspring said these emails were “illegally” obtained. What does that have to do with anything? Does Politico believe these emails should never have become public?
  • Dayspring said he has “firsthand knowledge and experience that Glenn does this with everybody.” Did Thrush do this while Dayspring worked for Rep. Eric Cantor?
  • Will Thrush face any consequences for his behavior?