CNN pushed back at President Trump for his tweet on Friday that asked “who alerted” the network to a pre-dawn raid by the FBI of his longtime associate Roger Stone.
“CNN’s ability to capture the arrest of Roger Stone was the result of determined reporting and interpreting clues revealed in the course of events. That’s called journalism. #FactsFirst,” the network responded.
“Greatest Witch Hunt in the History of our Country! NO COLLUSION! Border Coyotes, Drug Dealers and Human Traffickers are treated better. Who alerted CNN to be there?,” Trump said in a tweet shortly after news broke of Stone’s indictment by the Special Counsel.
Early Friday morning, the feds showed up at Stone’s Fort Lauderdale home, ending months of speculation that his indictment was imminent. While the news hit most media organizations by surprise, CNN had a full camera crew waiting in the wings to capture the moment.
CNN crime and justice reporter David Shortell insisted on “New Day” Friday that he figured it out by looking at “unusual grand jury activity in Washington D.C. yesterday,” while many others online voiced intense skepticism.
“CNN cameras were at the raid of Roger Stone…so FBI obviously tipped off CNN…even if you don’t like Stone, it is curious why Mueller’s office tipped off CNN instead of trying to quietly arrest Stone;quiet arrests are more likely to be safe to the FBI and the person arrested,” former Fox News anchor Greta Van Susteren said in a tweet, summarizing much of the suspicion online. She later walked back some of the speculation, saying the tip off could have come from anywhere.
Stone faces five counts of false statements and one count of witness tampering, according to the Washington Post