CNN made a reporting mistake on Friday, and on Saturday morning, President Donald Trump predictably used his Twitter account to blast the cable network.
CNN originally reported Friday that some in the Trump campaign, including Trump and Donald Trump Jr., were sent an email that contained a link to a website that was filled with hacked WikiLeaks documents and a decryption key to decipher them. CNN reported that the email had been sent Sept. 4, 2016, in the middle of the presidential campaign and about a month before WikiLeaks released the damaging John Podesta emails.
But the Washington Post reported that CNN got the date wrong, writing that the email to the campaign had been sent Sept. 14, after the website was already publicly known.
CNN later corrected its story and sent this tweet.
CNN's initial reporting of the date on an email sent to members of the Trump campaign about Wikileaks documents, which was confirmed by two sources to CNN, was incorrect. We have updated our story to include the correct date, and present the proper context for the timing of email
— CNN Communications (@CNNPR) December 8, 2017
But that wasn’t good enough for Trump, who routinely attacks CNN for what he calls “fake news.” Predictably, Trump blasted the network on Twitter on Saturday morning.
Fake News CNN made a vicious and purposeful mistake yesterday. They were caught red handed, just like lonely Brian Ross at ABC News (who should be immediately fired for his “mistake”). Watch to see if @CNN fires those responsible, or was it just gross incompetence?
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 9, 2017
Trump is referring to Ross, the ABC News reporter who was recently suspended for an incorrect report regarding Michael Flynn and when he contacted Russian officials on behalf of the administration.
CNN’S slogan is CNN, THE MOST TRUSTED NAME IN NEWS. Everyone knows this is not true, that this could, in fact, be a fraud on the American Public. There are many outlets that are far more trusted than Fake News CNN. Their slogan should be CNN, THE LEAST TRUSTED NAME IN NEWS!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 9, 2017
Donald Trump Jr. also took aim.
Does anyone actually believe that CNN’s democratic sources, who had all the info, were not deliberately trying to hide facts that would turn a non-story into their exact BS narrative? No one is that naive!!! I’m sure they wouldn’t lie to cover their prominent source🙄 https://t.co/HEMuz9NRz3
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) December 9, 2017
CNN is standing by its reporters, and a spokesperson told CNN’s Brian Stelter there will be no discipline for Manu Raju and Jeremy Herb because they followed the network’s editorial process for sourcing. The network also reportedly believes the sources who worked with Raju and Herb were simply mistaken and not malicious in giving the network bad information.