June 25, 2016

As you know by now, CNN hired Trump's former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski, reportedly for a salary of five hundred thousand dollars.

Most everybody, including journalists wondered how Corey would fulfill his role as TV pundit if he's not allowed to criticize his old boss, and was asked this by CNN's Erin Burnett:

Did you sign a nondisclosure agreement when you worked for the Trump campaign?" Here's how he responded:

When I came on board the Trump campaign, like everybody else, I said what I would do is keep confidential information confidential. And I signed a document to that degree, and I don't plan on ever breaking that. My confidentiality agreement is such where information that I would be privy to and private conversations that take place between family members that are not meant for the public audience are going to be held in the closest and strictest of confidence with me.

Fine, but the real issue isn't whether Lewandowski will spill secrets. No one would expect him to do that. The issue is whether he'll be able to provide authentic analysis, criticizing his former boss as he sees fit, or whether he'll be required to put a positive spin on everything Trump says and does, as if he were still on the payroll.

Burnett read a portion of a nondisclosure agreement: "During the term of your service and at all times thereafter, you hereby promise and agree not to demean or disparage publicly the company, Mr. Trump, any Trump company, any family member, or any family member company."

"Did you sign something like that, that said no disparaging?" she asked.

Lewandowski didn't provide a yes-or-no answer:

Let me tell you who I am. And then for those who don't know me, I'm a guy who calls balls and strikes. I'm going to tell it like it is because that's how I've had my entire career, and most of the time it has been at my own detriment. People who know me know I'm a very straightforward person. I'll tell you exactly like it is, whether you like it or not. And maybe that's the reason I don't have some of the jobs I should have had or been given some of those opportunities because I'm a straightforward person.

That's not going to change. No matter what I've done or what I've said, if something is wrong, I'm going to tell people it's wrong. If something is right, I'm going to tell people it's right. So there is nothing that's going to stop me from telling the truth, in my opinion, regardless of what that is.

So there's that, but the story didn't die there.

Apparently, CNN employees are up in arms that their boss, Jeff Zucker made the move to hire a shill in their midst.

Sources told Page Six on Friday that CNN’s “facing a near internal revolt” over Jeff Zucker’s hiring of Lewandowski as an exclusive commentator for the news network days after he was fired as Donald Trump’s campaign manager.

“CNN is facing a near internal revolt over the Corey hiring,” said a TV insider, who described many in the newsroom as “livid.” “Female reporters and producers especially . . . They are organizing and considering publicly demanding” that Lewandowski be let go.

At CNN, the hiring of the former Trump campaign manager on Thursday didn’t only alienate women on staff. A source further said that “Latinos and others in the newsroom feel betrayed by an homage to Trump,” so “they may do a public letter” objecting to the move.

A different source said, “Everyone at CNN — and even people who used to work there — are pissed about Trump’s former campaign manager being hired on salary.”

Can you help us out?

For nearly 20 years we have been exposing Washington lies and untangling media deceit, but now Facebook is drowning us in an ocean of right wing lies. Please give a one-time or recurring donation, or buy a year's subscription for an ad-free experience. Thank you.

Discussion

We welcome relevant, respectful comments. Any comments that are sexist or in any other way deemed hateful by our staff will be deleted and constitute grounds for a ban from posting on the site. Please refer to our Terms of Service for information on our posting policy.
Mastodon