CNN is covering Trump dossier stories without disclosing its own ties to Fusion GPS: Report

CNN may be covering the latest on the infamous Trump dossier, but what is more telling is what the network is leaving out.

Reporting on the dossier that contained unverified claims about the Trump campaign and Russia, has mostly been led by CNN’s justice correspondent Evan Perez who, according to The Daily Caller, has close ties to opposition-research firm Fusion GPS.

“Left out of Perez’s reporting, which has relied largely on unnamed sources, is his personal closeness to Fusion GPS’ operatives,” The Daily Caller reported, noting that the firm has been “described in Senate testimonies as a smear-for-hire operation that manufactures misleading or false media narratives for its clients.”

(Image: CNN.com)

Fusion co-founder, Glenn Simpson, regularly co-authored stories on national security with Perez at the Wall Street Journal where other Fusion co-founders also worked at the same time. Tom Catan worked at WSJ as a reporter and Peter Fritsch as the senior national security editor. In 2011, Simpson and Fritsch left the WSJ to start Fusion and Perez left in 2013 to join CNN in 2013.  Neil King, yet another longtime reporter for the publication left to join Fusion in December 2016, according to the Daily Caller.

Facebook photos posted by Perez also indicate his personal ties to those at Fusion GPS.

In a photo from August 2016, four months before King joined Fusion GPS, he is seen posing with another man at an outdoor bar in a post by Perez.

(Image: screengrab/Facebook via Daily Caller)

A photo of Perez, King and Fusion co-founder Peter Fritsch was posted in September 2015.

(Image: screengrab/Facebook via Daily Caller)

Perez also posted photos from an apparent fishing trip with Fritsch in 2011, the year he co-founded Fusion.

(Image: screengrab/Facebook via Daily Caller)

Perez never documented these relationships in any of his reporting, according to the Daily Caller.

“Fusion is basically a pen-for-hire shop, whose owners are prepared to concoct completely spurious stories that are fed to media contacts developed over years of legitimate work in reputable outlets,” Alek Boyd, who alleged the firm launched a smear campaign against him, told the Daily Caller.

“Americans don’t need a Justice Department coverup abetted by Glenn Simpson’s media buddies,” the Wall Street Journal’s editorial board condemned the firm and exposed its former employees in an editorial earlier this month.

But the network has not been up front in its coverage of Fusion which has been favorably portrayed.

“CNN’s coverage of the dossier has been relatively soft. CNN anchor Jake Tapper, usually known for his aggressive coverage, gave Fusion a pass while reporting on the story Wednesday evening,” the Daily Caller reported, noting that CNN did not respond to a request for comments.

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Frieda Powers

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