A belated acknowledgement made only well after the original burst of publicity involved in the endorsement had already passed. Also known as closing the barn door after the horse has gone on to win the Kentucky Derby. But this kind of malfeasance is typical of the media. Even when they pretend to maintain some sort of ethical standards, it's done in this kind of wink-nudge sort of way.
The Op-Ed ran in The New York Times opinion section on Friday under the headline, “I Ran the C.I.A. Now I’m Endorsing Hillary Clinton,” and the piece delivered the kind of public support a campaign cherishes:
There was one minor problem that I and a number of others had pointed out... Mike Morell, the ex-CIA boss, had edited the Benghazi talking points and gotten exactly the right kind of job.. working for Hillary's people.
Now the New York Times is acknowledging the problem that they had neglected to mention this little fact.
Morell comes across as apolitical, evenhanded and well-credentialed on matters of national security. What the piece does not say is that he is a senior counselor at Beacon Global Strategies, a Washington consulting firm with connections to Hillary Clinton. Two of the firm’s founders were top aides to Clinton, including Philippe Reines. Leon Panetta, who led the Defense Department and, later, the C.I.A. under President Obama, is also with the firm.
Morell didn’t mention the firm, or its ties to Clinton, in his piece. He simply said that he knew Clinton from working with her while she was secretary of state and he was a top official at the C.I.A. The Times identified him only by saying Morell was the acting director and deputy director of the C.I.A. from 2010 to 2013. It said nothing about the firm he joined after that.
Of course not. The usual excuses are proffered and a finger is lightly wagged. And the same dirty tricks keep on recurring.