Politico reporter sent story to Dem committee for pre-publication review

A massive dump of Democratic National Committee (DNC) emails via Wikileaks has revealed that Politico reporter Ken Vogel sent an advance copy of a story — in its entirety — to top DNC communication officials to review before it was published.

After being harshly criticized on social media and in conservative circles, Politico now calls Vogel’s email a “mistake” and says it was a violation of the publication’s policy. 

{mosads}”POLITICO’s policy is to not share editorial content pre-publication except as approved by editors,” says spokesman Brad Dayspring. “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,” the statement continues. “Sharing the full piece was a mistake and not consistent with our policies. There were no substantive changes to the piece.”

The controversy comes after the following email string was discovered in the Wikileaks dump that has already forced DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz to say she’ll resign at the end of the convention this week. 

“Per agreement … any thoughts appreciated,” Vogel wrote to DNC national press secretary Mark Paustenbach on April 30, attaching a full draft of the story before it went to Politico editors. 

Paustenbach then forwarded the email to DNC deputy communications director Luis Miranda. 

“Vogel gave me his story ahead of time/before it goes to his editors as long as I didn’t share it. Let me know if you see anything that’s missing and I’ll push back,” wrote Paustenbach. 

The reaction on social media from media reporters and political communication strategists has been mixed. 

Also people claiming @kenvogel is biased because he fact-checked a negative story on the DNC and Clinton.

— andrew kaczynski (@BuzzFeedAndrew) July 23, 2016

Has @politico fired @kenvogel yet? No excuses. No spin. Zero tolerance for advocacy masquerading as journalism. https://t.co/lSOfTkTe8l

— Richard Grenell (@RichardGrenell) July 22, 2016

Dear Media: If you’re wondering why conservative Americans don’t trust you, please see @Politico reporter @KenVogel. https://t.co/FTVsBt2D87

— Frank Luntz (@FrankLuntz) July 22, 2016

However, Washington Post media critic Erik Wemple characterizes criticism of Vogel as “over the top” and advises those speaking out against Vogel to “leave him alone” per the editorial’s headline. 

The Hill reached out to Politico for comment on whether Vogel will face any form of internal reprimand.  

“There will be no further comment on our internal process regarding this matter,” Dayspring responded in an email. 

The Hill also reached out directly to Vogel, who responded but would not agree to go on the record.