New York Times reporter Ali Watkins, whose records were seized by the Justice Department as part of a leak investigation, has been assigned a new beat in New York and given a mentor following an internal review of the document seizure and her conduct, according to the Times.
In a memo to staff on Tuesday, the Times executive editor Dean Baquet called the federal government’s actions abhorrent and told employees Watkins was being given a “fresh start” given the nature of the DOJ’s “intrusion” into her work.
“As we learn more, it is clear that the government leak investigation was an attempt to interfere with the work of journalists by an administration whose leader has called the media ‘the enemy of the people’ and has pledged an unprecedented crackdown on disclosures about government activities, threatening to undermine reporters’ ability to inform the public,” he wrote.
But, he said, the review also shed light on the ethical line between “private and professional life” for a journalist. Watkins hasn’t written for the Times since a Senate Intelligence Committee staffer, James Wolfe, was arrested for lying to the FBI about leaking classified information to journalists. Watkins had previously been in a three-year romantic relationship with Wolfe while she covered the Senate Intelligence Committee for The Huffington Post, Buzzfeed News and Politico, but said she told editors at the time she wasn’t using Wolfe as a source.
The DOJ told Watkins in February that years worth of her phone and email records had been seized by the FBI, but she did not inform the Times about the seizure until her colleagues reported on Wolfe’s arrest last month. Since she joined the Times, Watkins has been covering law enforcement in Washington, D.C.
“We are troubled by Ali’s conduct, particularly while she was employed by other news organizations,” Baquet said. “For a reporter to have an intimate relationship with someone he or she covers is unacceptable.”
Baquet called Watkins a talented reporter who made some “poor judgements,” but he placed significant blame on her former editors for allowing her to cover the Senate Intelligence Committee after telling them about the relationship. He said the review found that the Times also dropped the ball in its hiring screenings — Watkins’ disclosed the previous relationship to some editors at the time of her hiring, but not all of the newsroom’s leadership was made aware.
Wolfe has plead not guilty to the federal charges.
Read the Times’ full story here.
She’s been assigned to a new beat “in New York.” As what, a Metro reporter?
Yes, maybe she made some poor choices–who of us doesn’t? But this smacks of giving in to pressure from the Trumpettes. She might not have been able to continue covering the Senate Intelligence Committee, but what about assigning her to cover State, or even CIA?
I’m bothered by this. Where did she GO? How did they help her LEARN? Is this just giving Trump more ‘fake news ‘ ammunition when there isn’t a one of these guys that don’t have conflicts of interest.
This is a little like the person who said something anti-zionist when he was messaging on Jdate 5 years ago, and now he can’t get hired anywhere, let alone find somebody to love. One must avoid even the APPEARANCE of having a mind with opinions sloshing around in it, since obviously the only person who can report about all the news that’s fit to print is someone who is empty inside, a walking tape-recorder with a very short memory capacity.
OT, Alex Jones has uncovered a plot to start a second civil war scheduled (?) for the Fourth of July.
https://twitter.com/hashtag/secondcivilwarletters?src=hash
She exercised poor judgement by sleeping with a potential source. I don’t think it is wrong for her to be romantically involved with Wolfe, but she should have asked for a new assignment when they started dating. She damaged both her and Wolfe’s careers.
I guess if you work for the New York Times, write snappy, punchy prose, and are a really fast typist you don’t need no stinking judgment.