The revision history of a New York Times article that originally reported government officials had requested a criminal investigation into Hillary Clinton’s handling of government information on her private email account took another turn Saturday as the paper modified its exclusive story yet again.
The latest edit removes references to a “criminal” inquiry in connection with Hillary Clinton’s email account, downgrading the inquiry to a “security referral pertaining to possible mishandling of classified information.” The word “criminal” has also been scrubbed from the headline and lede of the story.
The changing story has been castigated by Clinton’s camp and raised the hackles of Media Matters for America, a left-leaning organization that called on The New York Times to investigate its Clinton reporting Friday. After initially claiming that the story did not contain any errors, The New York Times declined to elaborate on the justification for correction Friday afternoon, saying the addition “speaks for itself.” In response to the call from Media Matters, the paper released a statement Friday evening calling MMfA Chairman David Brock a “partisan” and underscoring its commitment to aggressive reporting of political figures.
The New York Times first altered its story after publication Thursday night, tweaking language in the lede to distance the secretary of state herself from the focus of the investigation. Here’s the original headline and lede:
Criminal Inquiry Sought in Hillary Clinton’s Use of Email
Two inspectors general have asked the Justice Department to open a criminal investigation into whether Hillary Rodham Clinton mishandled sensitive government information on a private email account she used as secretary of state, senior government officials said Thursday.
And here’s the current headline and lede:
Inquiry Sought in Hillary Clinton’s Use of Email
Two inspectors general have asked the Justice Department to open an investigation into whether sensitive government information was mishandled in connection with the personal email account Hillary Rodham Clinton used as secretary of state, senior government officials said Thursday.
The Times appended a correction to the story Friday afternoon, then modified it this morning to fix the allegation of a criminal inquiry. Here’s how it currently reads:
An article and a headline in some editions on Friday about a request to the Justice Department for an investigation regarding Hillary Clinton’s personal email account while she was secretary of state misstated the nature of the request, using information from senior government officials. It addressed the potential compromise of classified information in connection with that email account. It did not specifically request an investigation into Mrs. Clinton.
In addition, government officials who initially said the request was for a criminal investigation later said it was not a “criminal referral” but a “security referral” pertaining to possible mishandling of classified information.
Per Politico’s Dylan Byers, the source of the error was officials with the Justice Department who initially claimed the investigation was criminal in nature but backtracked within the course of a few hours. Byers notes that The Director of National Intelligence office also shot down the characterization of a criminal inquiry.
Although the Clinton campaign told Byers the Times’ reporting on the issue was “discredited,” the bulk of the report remains accurate. Per Politico’s Josh Gerstein and Hanna Trudo, her camp is trying to lessen the impact of the story:
Clinton on Friday said people are getting worked up over not much. “Maybe the heat is getting to everybody,” she said, in remarks before a policy speech in New York on Wall Street.
