A monthslong investigation by the Hill into the Ukraine-related reporting of former Executive Vice President John Solomon is now complete.
Solomon, who is no longer at the publication, has been the subject of scrutiny after his columns containing allegations of nefarious activities in Ukraine became paramount to the impeachment of President Trump.
The Hill published its extensive documentation surrounding the investigation into his reporting on Wednesday. In it, the Hill staff criticized Solomon’s work and said it is reconsidering its editing policies.
Now appearing on 14 of Solomon’s reports on Ukraine are editor’s notes, as the Hill acknowledged “potential confusion” with his stories being labeled under opinion despite reading “more like news stories.” They chalked the confusion up to the fact that he was identified as “an award-winning journalist” in his column tag line and that he was not labeled as an opinion writer during television appearances. The Hill said it “should have” contacted producers to “label Solomon as an opinion columnist.”
The review noted how Solomon’s work was particularly amplified by his appearances on Fox News, where he is a contributor, particularly when he was a guest of host Sean Hannity.
“Solomon’s subsequent appearances on Fox News where he was often identified as an investigative journalist further potentially blurred the distinction between news and opinion in the minds of some readers,” the news outlet added, also noting that Solomon’s decision to “seek comment from parties who were mentioned critically in his columns” is not “typical of opinion writing.”
The Hill said Solomon failed “to identify important details about key Ukrainian sources, including the fact that they had been indicted or were under investigation,” while neglecting to identify sources who were acting as his own lawyers. They also found that the role of indicted businessman Lev Parnas, who is an associate of Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani, in Solomon’s work to be “unclear but potentially troubling.”
The Hill concluded that “there has never been any proof of legal wrongdoing by the Bidens.”
Since leaving the outlet, Solomon has made plans to start a new outlet, JustTheNews.com, which “is launching in a few weeks, committed to just reporting facts from journalists with a long record of public trust and excellence.”
