Democratic National Committee v. The Russian Federation et al

Filing 212

MEMORANDUM OF LAW in Support re: #211 MOTION to Dismiss Amended Complaint. . Document filed by Donald J. Trump For President, Inc.. (Attachments: #1 Exhibit 1, #2 Exhibit 2, #3 Exhibit 3, #4 Exhibit 4, #5 Exhibit 5, #6 Exhibit 6, #7 Exhibit 7, #8 Exhibit 8, #9 Exhibit 9, #10 Exhibit 10, #11 Exhibit 11, #12 Exhibit 12, #13 Exhibit 13)(Carvin, Michael)

Exhibit 12
Democratic National Committee v. Donald J. Trump for President, Inc., et al.
(No. 1:18-cv-3501-JGK-SDA)

Politico Admits ‘Mistake’ In Sending DNC An Article In Advance | HuffPost

Page 1 of 5

US
EDITION

MEDIA

07/24/2016 05:25 pm ET

Politico Admits ‘Mistake’ In Sending
DNC An Article In Advance
No substantive changes were made to the piece, though the arrangement has
prompted criticism from the RNC and prominent conservatives.
By Michael Calderone

MSNBC

Politico says it was a mistake for reporter Ken Vogel to have sent the DNC an article in advance.

NEW YORK ― Politico acknowledged Sunday that it was a “mistake” for one of its top
reporters to send the Democratic National Committee an advance copy of an article while
emphasizing there were no substantive changes made to the piece prior to publication.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/politico-dnc-ken-vogel_us_57951b65e4b02d5d5ed1f8... 9/4/2017

Politico Admits ‘Mistake’ In Sending DNC An Article In Advance | HuffPost

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A May 2 article by Politico’s Ken Vogel and Isaac Arnsdorf ― “Clinton fundraising leaves
little for state parties” ― has come under scrutiny since WikiLeaks published over 19,000
internal DNC emails on Friday.
In an April 29 email thread, DNC national press secretary Mark Paustenbach shared Vogel’s
detailed questions with others working to coordinate a response to what would be an
unflattering story about fundraising efforts. Paustenbach also spoke to the Clinton campaign
that day in preparing the DNC’s pushback, according to the emails.
On April 30, Paustenbach told DNC Communications Director Luis Miranda that he’d
received the story in advance. “Vogel gave me his story ahead of time/before it goes to his
editors as long as I didn’t share it,” he wrote. “Let me know if you see anything that’s
missing and I’ll push back.”

WIKILEAKS

Sharing articles with sources in advance is generally frowned upon in newsrooms.

Journalists are expected to ask questions of those they write about prior to publication, but
sharing entire stories in advance is generally discouraged in newsrooms.
On Sunday, Politico spokesman Brad Dayspring told The Huffington Post in an email that
sharing stories with sources isn’t standard practice.
“Politico’s policy is to not share editorial content pre-publication except as approved by
editors,” Dayspring wrote. “In this case the reporter was attempting to check some very
technical language and figures involving the DNC’s joint fundraising agreement with the
Clinton campaign. Checking the relevant passages for accuracy was responsible and
consistent with our standards; Sharing the full piece was a mistake and not consistent with
our policies. There were no substantive changes to the piece and in fact the final story was
blasted out by the both RNC and the Sanders campaign, and prompted Politifact to revise
its rating on the issue in question.”

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/politico-dnc-ken-vogel_us_57951b65e4b02d5d5ed1f8... 9/4/2017

Politico Admits ‘Mistake’ In Sending DNC An Article In Advance | HuffPost

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Vogel, Politico’s chief investigative reporter and author of the 2014 book Big Money, is
regarded as one of the top journalists on the politics and money beat. He’s reported critically
on fundraising across party lines and the article in question wasn’t one the DNC or the
Hillary Clinton campaign would have liked to see in print. Vogel and Arnsdorf reported that
only 1 percent of $61 million raised by the Hillary Victory Fund ― a group comprised of
Clinton’s campaign, the DNC and 32 state party committees ― had gone to state parties.
Two days later, Politifact revised its rating on a claim from actor and Clinton supporter
George Clooney that “the overwhelming amount” of money raised at a Clinton fundraiser
would go to down-ballot Democrats. In light of Politico’s reporting, the fact-checking
organization changed its assessment from “Mostly True” to “Half True.”
As Vogel and Arnsdorf wrote at the time, allies of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) were
concerned with the joint fundraising arrangement. “They see it as a circumvention of
campaign contribution limits by a national party apparatus intent on doing whatever it takes
to help Clinton defeat Sanders during the party’s primary, and then win the White House,”
they wrote.
The WikiLeaks trove, more broadly, has reinforced long-running perceptions among
Sanders supporters that the DNC was assisting the Clinton campaign during the Democratic
primary. DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz announced her resignation Sunday in
response to the fallout from the leak.
Though the Politico story wasn’t positive toward the DNC, the courtesy Vogel extended to
the party has been seized upon as evidence of liberal media bias by some conservatives
media figures, such as radio hosts Laura Ingraham and Mark Levin and Republican pollster
Frank Luntz.

Frank Luntz

Follow

@FrankLuntz

Dear Media: If you're wondering why conservative Americans
don't trust you, please see @Politico reporter @KenVogel.
twitter.com/zackbrownca/st…
2:27 PM - Jul 22, 2016
102

1,370

1,063

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/politico-dnc-ken-vogel_us_57951b65e4b02d5d5ed1f8... 9/4/2017

Politico Admits ‘Mistake’ In Sending DNC An Article In Advance | HuffPost

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The Republican National Committee, too, has turned a spotlight on leaked emails involving
Politico.
On Saturday, The Republican National Committee blasted a Business Insider story on
Vogel’s emails to its press mailing list and communications director Sean Spicer
charged that the reporter allowed the Democrats “to edit” his stories in advance.
Disclosure: The reporter worked with Vogel at Politico from November 2007 to March 2010.
ALSO ON HUFFPOST

Michael Calderone
Senior Media Reporter, HuffPost

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Politico Admits ‘Mistake’ In Sending DNC An Article In Advance | HuffPost

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