Texts introduced as evidence at Trump’s criminal trial show Maggie Haberman acting as Trump’s stenographer and media puppet.
The texts:
PEOPLE’S EXHIBIT 260 – TEXTS BETWEEN COHEN AND MAGGIE HABERMAN OF NYT (2/13/18)
HOFFINGER: Who is Maggie Haberman?
COHEN: She is a reporter for the New York Times.FROM MC TO MH: Big boss just approved me responding to complaint and statement. Please start writing and I will…
— Katie Phang (@KatiePhang) May 14, 2024
The exchange:
HOFFINGER: Who is Maggie Haberman?
COHEN: She is a reporter for the New York Times.
FROM MC TO MH: Big boss just approved me responding to complaint and statement. Please start writing and I will call you soon
The big boss is Donald Trump. MC is Michael Cohen, and MH is Maggie Haberman.
Trump approved of Cohen talking to Haberman, so Cohen instructed Haberman to start writing her story and then he would call her later.
Haberman was writing at Trump’s approval, and on Trump’s schedule. This is not how journalism works. Journalists do not get approval from their subjects before they write their stories, or start writing before they have the information. Haberman isn’t reporting. She’s transcribing for Trump.
The exchange between Cohen and Haberman suggests that Haberman is in Trump’s back pocket, and that she is employed by The New York Times and CNN because of her access to Trump. Haberman got that access by writing what Trump wants.
Maggie Haberman is being exposed as access journalism at its worst, and it speaks volumes about the slant of the coverage in The New York Times that she is touted as a star reporter.
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