CNN anchor Jake Tapper criticized a Biden campaign official for attacking CBS reporter Catherine Herridge.
On Wednesday, the CNN anchor fired back at Andrew Bates, the director of rapid response for Joe Biden’s presidential campaign for attacking journalist Catherine Herridge as a “partisan, rightwing hack.”
“Gross. Personal attacks on journalists for sharing facts is obnoxious and indecent. @JoeBiden approves this message?” Tapper tweeted.
Gross. Personal attacks on journalists for sharing facts is obnoxious and indecent. @JoeBiden approves this message? https://t.co/G6jVxWuxMF
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) May 13, 2020
On Wednesday, Herridge tweeted photographs of newly declassified records from acting Director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell that shows a list of people who received notification that former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn’s identity has been unmasked. Sixteen individuals made the request for Flynn’s identity to be unmasked, and the list tweeted by Herridge implicated Biden in what President Trump has called “Obamagate.”
“SCOOP CBS News obtains Richard Grenell notification to congress declassified ‘unmasking list’ Flynn between late 2016 and January 2017 – Read 3 pages provided by NSA here,” Herridge tweeted.
In response, Bates attacked Herridge, calling her a “regular conduit for conservative media manipulation ploy.”
“SCOOP: Catherine Herridge is a partisan, rightwing hack who is a regular conduit for conservative media manipulation ploys because she agrees to publicize things before contacting the target to ask for comment,” Bates said in a tweet that was deleted shortly after.
Biden’s campaign has repeatedly decried Trump for his treatment of the press, making it a central message in his campaign. “A free press is essential to a free society. That’s why attacking the press and attempting to intimidate independent media is a standard part of the authoritarian playbook around the world,” Biden tweeted in early May.
“Trump deflects legitimate questions with attacks. He bullies members of the press, instead of taking responsibility for his failures. His efforts to undermine public confidence in the integrity of reporting violate our core values and threaten our very system of government,” he said in an additional tweet.
A free press is essential to a free society. That’s why attacking the press and attempting to intimidate independent media is a standard part of the authoritarian playbook around the world. And it’s why Donald Trump’s efforts to demonize the media put us on such a dangerous path.
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) May 3, 2020
Trump deflects legitimate questions with attacks. He bullies members of the press, instead of taking responsibility for his failures. His efforts to undermine public confidence in the integrity of reporting violate our core values and threaten our very system of government.
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) May 3, 2020
