CNBC’s chief Washington correspondent John Harwood is arguing that he did nothing wrong by asking a Democratic presidential campaign to brainstorm interview questions for a Republican presidential candidate.
On Sunday morning, a newly-released email from Wikileaks, dated September 21, 2015, showed Harwood consulting Hillary Clinton’s campaign chairman John Podesta on questions to ask former Florida Governor Jeb Bush. “What should I ask Jeb in Speakeasy interview tomorrow?” the email reads.
As news of this message spread across social media, hundreds of people raged at Harwood, but he insisted that this behavior is standard practice among his peers.
Harwood appears to insist that he reaches out both to Democratic and Republicans campaigns to help draft questions. However, the majority of his correspondence shows Harwood pursuing much more than a professional relationship with Podesta — raising flags on his claim of impartiality.
From Harwood’s frequent emails to Clinton’s campaign chairman, we have learned that the CNBC reporter:
- Congratulated the Clinton campaign for a “pretty strong” result after Super Tuesday primaries.
- Congratulated Podesta on the night of the Democratic Nevada caucus, which Clinton won.
- Congratulated Podesta on White House “climate deal that you had a lot to do with.”
- Chit-chatted with Podesta about their shared interest in running. Harwood called Podesta his “benchmark for being in good shape.”
- Shared a humorous story from a book party for a former top adviser in Lyndon Johnson’s White House.
- Thanked Podesta for hosting an off-the-record dinner at his home three days before Clinton’s campaign launch — remarking afterward that the event was “fun.”
- Told Podesta and Jennifer Palmieri that they would “enjoy” an interview he conducted with Scott Walker.
- Invited Podesta to lunch and dinner… And drinks. Over and over.
- Boasted to Podesta that his sister-in-law was running a Colorado program to curb teen pregnancy.
- Sent an email saying only “pretty funny!!” the day after Hillary’s cameo on Saturday Night Live.
- Speculated with Podesta whether Joe Biden would enter the Democratic primary, then gloated for correctly predicting he would not.
- Told Podesta to “watch out” for Dr. Ben Carson — warning that the Republican candidate could “could give you real trouble in a general” election.
- Commended the Clinton campaign for a “strong video.”
- Asked Podesta his opinion on the Republican debates hosted by Fox News and Fox Business — apparently not for any reporting on the subject.
- Told Podesta that criticism of his performance as a GOP debate moderator gave him a “better appreciation of media shit-storms.” He also bragged about goading Donald Trump, as moderator, into “veering off the rails.”
- Praised Hillary’s performance at a campaign stop in Newton, Iowa.
- Wrote a long note defending himself for a less-than-flattering article on Hillary, concluding: “The value of the event, to me, was seeing you guys.”
- Nagged Podesta for an interview with Clinton and passive-aggressively attacked the campaign for turning down his requests. Over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over
- Thanked Podesta personally when Clinton finally scheduled an interview for Harwood’s “Speakeasy” on CNBC.
- Called Hillary the “person most likely to be next president” and wondered why journalists were spending so much time on her illegal handling of classified information.
Podesta quips in one email thread that Harwood “just butters us up to get better access.” Readers can judge for themselves whether Harwood’s friendly overtures are sincere or not, but this pattern of behavior clearly shows Harwood has cultivated a personal relationship with Clinton’s campaign chairman and failed to disclose this fact in his reporting and his moderation duties.
A representative for CNBC failed to respond for a request for comment.
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