At least two New York Post reporters refused to put their names on a Hunter Biden report fed by Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani that has prompted social media restrictions and allegations of Russian disinformation, The New York Times reports.
The article was written mostly by staff reporter Bruce Golding, who refused to put his byline on the article because he had “concerns about the article’s credibility,” according to the report.
The story was based on files ostensibly gotten from a laptop Hunter Biden left at a Delaware repair shop but cited only two sources, Giuliani and former Trump associate Steve Bannon, who faces federal fraud charges.
Editors met last week to discuss the material provided by Giuliani and pressed writers to add their bylines to the story. At least one reporter outside of Golding refused.
Former Fox News employee was credited:
The article was ultimately published under the bylines of deputy politics editor Emma-Jo Morris and reporter Gabrielle Fonrouge.
Morris, who previously worked at Fox News, did not have a bylined article in the Post until last week’s story.
She arrived at the Post in April after working as a producer on Sean Hannity’s show.
Sources told the Times that Fonrouge had little to do with the article and learned that her byline was on the story only after it was published.
Post was the only outlet that would take it:
Giuliani told the Times that he chose the New York Post because “either nobody else would take it, or if they took it, they would spend all the time they could to try to contradict it before they put it out.”
The Post defended its actions.
“The senior editors at The Post made the decision to publish the Biden files after several days’ hard work established its merit,” top Post editor Col Allan told the Times.
“The story was vetted and The Post stands by its reporting,” a Post spokeswoman said in a statement.
