Wikileaks E-Mails Show CNBC’s Harwood Cozying Up to Clinton Campaign

October 10th, 2016 5:12 PM

As part of the Monday’s e-mail dump by Wikileaks from Hillary Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta, The Daily Caller’s Betsy Rothstein found yet another set of e-mails illustrating their cozy relationship with the liberal media as CNBC correspondent and infamously biased debate moderator John Harwood engaged in a variety of flattering conversations with Podesta and other Clinton officials.

Rothstein provided screenshots from e-mails ranging from brief, one-line suck-ups to full-fledged lobbying for a fawning interview with Clinton that he promised would be a “deep...conversation about the economy that she wants.”

Concerning that e-mail offering to give Clinton a hand up, an e-mail dated November 24, 2015 with the subject line “Re: don’t you think it’s time...” featured Harwood asking Podesta if he’d think Clinton could “talk economy with me.”

<<< Please consider helping NewsBusters financially with your tax-deductible contribution today >>>

Podesta shot back that it was “time to start talking about the economy with somebody” but “[p]robably after Thanksgiving.” The giddy Harwood replied by upping the ante to try and secure the deal: “With me, it will be the kinda of substantive, deep, textured conversation about the economy she wants.”

One e-mail on July 24, 2015 with “FYI” as the subject line showcased Harwood dithering away in offering some unsolicited advice via a tweet of his that he felt compelled to make sure was on the Clinton campaign’s radar: “set aside process - if there’s any specific/plausible suggestion of nefarious email @HillaryCLinton was trying to hide, I haven’t heard it.”

Rothstein conceded that reporters often seek off the record meetings with campaign sources over a meal, so a request on October 4, 2015 to Jennifer Palmeri wasn’t incredibly surprising, but one from September 2015 assured Podesta that Hillary Clinton is “over the hump” in her performance during interviews. 

Citing interviews with CNN’s Brianna Keilar and MSNBC/NBC’s Andrea Mitchell, he added: “She looked so much more comfortable talking to Andrea today than to Brianna a few weeks ago.”

Another e-mail that could be thought of as on the tame side but nonetheless fawning came in the form of a one-liner on January 28 telling Podesta that Clinton “was good here” at a rally in Newton, Iowa that was almost mirrored on March 16 following a big week of primary wins for Clinton. Writing that day, Harwood congratulated Podesta and ruled that Clinton looks “pretty strong.”