More Blunders: CNN quietly backtracks another report tying Trump campaign to Russia

Did I miss the "blunder" in that?

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Did I miss the "blunder" in that?

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You miss a lot if you watch CNN

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Muh Diet Coke!

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Muh 2 scoops
Muh Concentration Camps for gays
Muh Pissgate
Muh Russians!
Muh Malaysian Airlines Flight 370 flew into a black hole

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CNN has gently walked back

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Gently walked back?

How do you "gently" walk it back?

Say it's wrong, but you are standing by it's merit? Or some other doublespeak?

Some of those are pretty funny.

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Did I miss the "blunder" in that?

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The actual information was right (about the dates of the meetings and the failure to.disclose, etc., but they and whomever their legal experts are were incorrect in judging that Sessions' omissions violated federal regulations. They didn't. FYI it took DoJ months to come to that determination themselves. So I'm not getting the fake hook here either.

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And CNN spent 7 months reporting factually incorrect data.

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ETA: Went and dug up the story. Looks like they covered their bases and noted differing imtepretations.

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First on CNN: AG Sessions did not disclose Russia meetings in security clearance form, DOJ says

By Manu Raju and Evan Perez, CNN

Updated 9:53 PM ET, Thu May 25, 2017

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STORY HIGHLIGHTS



The new information from the Justice Department is the latest example of Sessions failing to disclose contacts he had with Russian officials. He has come under withering criticism from Democrats following revelations that he did not disclose the same contacts with Kislyak during his Senate confirmation hearings earlier this year.

Sessions initially listed a year's worth of meetings with foreign officials on the security clearance form, according to Justice Department spokeswoman Sarah Isgur Flores. But she says he and his staff were then told by an FBI employee who assisted in filling out the form, known as the SF-86, that he didn't need to list dozens of meetings with foreign ambassadors that happened in his capacity as a senator.

After CNN's story published, a spokesman responded to the reporting with a statement, saying that Sessions was instructed not to list meetings like the ones with Kislyak on his form.

"As a United States Senator, the Attorney General met hundreds -- if not thousands -- of foreign dignitaries and their staff," spokesman Ian Prior said. "In filling out the SF-86 form, the Attorney General's staff consulted with those familiar with the process, as well as the FBI investigator handling the background check, and was instructed not to list meetings with foreign dignitaries and their staff connected with his Senate activities."

A legal expert who regularly assists officials in filling out the form disagrees with the Justice Department's explanation, suggesting that Sessions should have disclosed the meetings.
"My interpretation is that a member of Congress would still have to reveal the appropriate foreign government contacts notwithstanding it was on official business," said Mark Zaid, a Washington attorney who specializes in national security law.

Zaid added that in a similar circumstance he advised a member of Congress to list all foreign contacts -- including those made during official US government business.
To obtain a security clearance, a federal official is not required to list the meetings if they were part of a foreign conference he or she attended while conducting government business. Sessions' meetings, however, do not appear to be tied to foreign conferences.

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