Politico reporter Nahal Toosi spoke at a conference hosted by left-wing, anti-Israel organization J Street, a new report reveals.
Toosi took part in a panel on Sunday titled “The Erosion of Diplomacy Under the Trump Administration,” The Washington Free Beacon reported. Democratic Virginia Rep. Gerry Connolly joined Toosi on stage, according to the Free Beacon’s report.
J Street is currently campaigning against President Donald Trump’s nominee for CIA director, Mike Pompeo, whom J street claims “has a long history of expressing outrageous anti-Muslim views.”
Toosi’s coverage of Pompeo has been consistently negative, while her reporting on J Street has been largely positive, the Free Beacon’s report noted.
Toosi declined to answer at the event a question on whether she thought Trump was a Manchurian candidate “for, you know, reasons of not wanting to be fired.”
Politico communications director Katie Pudwill defended Toosi’s appearance in a statement to the news website. (RELATED: Partisan Journalists Exposed In WikiLeaks Emails Carry On As Before)
“POLITICO’s approval process for reporter speaking engagements requires both editorial and business sign-off,” Pudwill said. “There are a number of factors considered during the approval process, including the transparency of each event and whether or not the appearance is open to the public and the press.”
“In this case, had a group such as [the American Israel Public Affairs Committee] reached out for participation on a panel, we would have followed the same approval process,” Pudwill said.
“Our reporters lend their knowledge and expertise to over 500 speaking events throughout the year as moderators, panelists and keynote speakers,” she added. “Neither POLITICO nor its journalists endorse or espouse the beliefs of the hundreds of groups that feature our reporters each year.”
The Washington Post dropped national politics reporter Janell Ross in January after Ross gave a strategy briefing at a conference for left-wing activists funded by George Soros. Unlike Toosi, Ross didn’t inform her employers that she was speaking at the conference.
Follow Hasson on Twitter @PeterJHasson
Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.