CNN in Damage Control Mode With Dems Over GOP Operative Hire

CNN that the network’s new politics editor, Sarah Isgur, will not be involved in the debates that the channel hosts and moderates for the Democratic primary.

The assurances were provided after the committee expressed reservations to CNN over Isgur’s history in Republican politics and after officials at the committee raised concerns over her alleged connections to a now-retracted Fox News story on the debunked Seth Rich conspiracy theory.

CNN announced this week that it had hired Isgur to help oversee the network’s coverage of the 2020 election. Until late last year, she had served as Jeff Sessions’ top spokesperson at the Department of Justice after previously working on campaigns for Carly Fiorina and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX).

Her hiring set off a round of recriminations from journalists, who argued that the longtime Republican operative had no prior experience in the news industry, and from Democrats, who believe she brings a clearly established ideological agenda with her to her new post.

Inside the DNC, the reaction was one of—what one source called—”disbelief.” Officials there attempted to get clarity over what role she would actually play in campaign coverage. Ultimately, a senior DNC aide told The Daily Beast that CNN assured them Isgur would not have involvement in Democratic debates. It remains unclear the extent to which she will be involved in other elements of the network’s Democratic primary coverage.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/cnn-assures-dnc-ex-sessions-aide-sarah-isgur-wont-work-on-democratic-debates?ref=home