Allegations of “catch and kill” were only part of the story, as a journalist with the New York Post was reportedly suspended amid his own coverage on one of President Donald Trump’s nominees.
“The timing struck me as not coincidental.”
In February, the president announced that he had tapped Virginia Secretary of Public Safety Terrance Cole, a veteran of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, to be his DEA administrator. While CNN had reported on voiced concerns about the nominee, journalist Josh Kosman’s allegations that Trump-approved Post editor-in-chief Keith Poole had killed his own story on Cole’s supposed “chequered past” and was said to have led to his suspension.
“Unfortunately, when Keith takes action like this, you are catching and killing a story. Then two weeks later, you’re telling me to get out. I certainly interpreted it as retaliation. The timing struck me as not coincidental,” Kosman explained to Breaker.
Breaker co-founder Lachlan Cartwright had detailed how the journalist had reportedly received an email from the Post political editor that read, “There’s no good way to say this, so I’ll just say it: [Keith Poole] spiked the story.”
“I sent him the most recent copy and his response was ‘Nope. Not running this’ in a way that made clear there was no changing his mind… I’m very sorry. I thought we had the story… but sometimes decisions are made above my pay grade,” the message continued.
The “spiked” story was not the end of the matter for Kosman, as the report indicated that two weeks later, the Post business editor was said to have informed the journalist he would “either have to submit to a performance improvement plan, or take some time to seek another job.”
As of Tuesday, Kosman was reported suspended with pay.
Refuting the claims, a spokesperson for the Post told Breaker in a statement, “The allegations of ‘catch and kill’ and retaliation against Josh Kosman are absolutely, categorically untrue. Beyond that, we do not comment on personnel matters.”
It remains that earlier in May, Trump had commended Poole and suggested he be handed the reins at the Wall Street Journal, stating on Truth Social, “I highly recommend Keith Poole, who is the very successful Editor-in-Chief of the New York Post, to take over the entire operation of the highly inaccurate, ‘China Centric,’ Wall Street Journal. It’s an easy move to Rupert [Murdoch], and he’ll love the results. Such a change would be a GREAT DAY for America, but not a Great Day for China!”
Additionally, CNN had reported in April that more than a dozen former DEA officials had sent an “unsigned letter” to Congress voicing concern about Cole’s nomination with reference to what was described as a “botched operation by a US-vetted Colombian police squad that left 10 local officers dead, and a cartel’s brutal retaliation in a small Mexican town that killed dozens.”
Native of Brooklyn, NY, Kevin Haggerty is a graduate of Hunter College where he studied Cultural Anthropology and Geography. An avid reader and truth seeker, he currently resides in Texas with his wife and their dog and, when he isn't researching current events and their impacts, you'll find him spending time with friends and family or working on his next novel.
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