Glenn Thrush, the Politico reporter who sent at least two stories to the Clinton campaign before publishing them, has landed a job at the New York Times. I wrote about Thrush’s collaboration with Team Clinton here.
The first story in question was about Hillary Clinton’s supposed fundraising woes. It seemed designed to generate sympathy, if not funds, for the Clinton campaign. But just to make sure his article was fine by Team Clinton, Thrush emailed it to John Podesta in advance of publication. He asked Podesta to “tell me if I fu*ked up anything.”
Thrush stated: “Because I have become a hack I will send u the whole section that pertains to u.” He added: “Please don’t share or tell anyone I did this.” Podesta responded that there were “no problems” with Thrush’s story.
On another occasion, recounted by Alex Pfeifer of the Daily Caller, Thrush sent a story to Jennifer Palmieri, Clinton’s communications director, for pre-clearance. He wrote: “pls read asap — the [Jennifer Palmieri] bits — don’t share.”
Palmieri forwarded Thrush’s email to Podesta and campaign manager Robby Mook among other staffers. She said: “He did me courtesy of sending what he is going to say about me. Seems fine.”
As published, Thrush’s story included this line: “Palmieri (who laughed off a request to participate in this story) enjoys a good relationship with reporters.” The bit about non-participation has been shown to be dubious at best, but the part about enjoying a good relationship with reporters is true, at least in the case of Thrush.
Politico tried to defend Thrush by claiming that he pre-clears stories on a bipartisan basis. Pfeiffer challenged Politico to cite examples of Thrush engaging in this practice with key Republican operatives. Apparently, Politico was unable to do so.
Unfortunately, or so it seemed, Thrush’s “participation” with Team Clinton was revealed by WikiLeaks. But with his hiring by the New York Times, Thrush has landed on his feet and then some.
It seems like a great fit. An organ for Democrats has hired a reporter who collaborates with them.
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