CNN continued spinning their wheels about Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) Monday, as a panel on This Morning discussed plans for CIA cutbacks. Drawing on unnamed sources, they raised fears of disgruntled former agents committing treason by selling American secrets, and suggested that, if that happened, DOGE would somehow bear the blame.
Their discussion began by recalling an incident from early February of an unclassified email sent to the White House that may have compromised certain persons the CIA was recruiting. Kayla Tausche asked the panel, “I mean, is this a- a one-time oversight, or is this something that you think is- is of- of higher concern?”
Axios National Reporter Alex Thompson responded:
Well, this is the difference between going in and rebuilding Twitter and the federal government… this is a part of- many- little mistakes, that could have huge consequences… You're talking about- you know- stuff dealing with nuclear reactors and- and the FAA. And…the hope is that there aren't...dire consequences to some of these changes, but that is the risk.
“Yeah,” agreed Meghan Hays, former Biden White House director of message planning, “these mistakes have real world implications… And all the reports say there's like a 19-year-old kid running around who doesn't have any understanding or any foresight of what the government actually does and what these things actually mean and the consequences.”
Neither offered to substantiate any specifics, nor were they asked to. They simply regurgitated what had become an endless and very predictable refrain.
Matt Gorman, former campaign manager for Republican Senator Tim Scott (SC), then brought up a related story CNN wrote, when he stated:
And one of things other- also [sic] jumped out at me in- in CNN's reporting was the fact that the CIA was concerned that some of these people that would be layoffs or buyouts within the CIA, would be open to selling secrets to a foreign asset. That jumped out at me, the fact that they would- you know- this would cause- possibly- honestly, cause treasonous activity- um, on the part of some of these- layoffs. I certainly hope that's not true. Um, but it's something to obviously guard against as well.
It could have been asked why, in such a scenario, the disgruntled former agent’s deliberate choice to take it out on America by committing treason would have been ‘cause[d]’ by anyone other than that agent, or why anyone else would have been responsible for that choice.
The original article, which cited anonymous sources, had briefly noted that one official had pointed out “that the kind of person who might do such a thing is precisely the type the agency should be removing from its ranks.” It ignored the obvious question of why, at that point, previous administrations would have borne no responsibility for hiring such an agent to begin with.
It was also notable that the piece was co-authored by Katie Bo Lillis, who had been one of the major CNN reporters in the malicious defamation case of Zachary Young v. CNN, which CNN had spectacularly lost. That detail would certainly have impeached CNN’s credibility there, to begin with.
As CNN obsessed over the exact same thing yet again, one would have thought their new standard for a story worth reporting was that it could be boiled back down to DOGE and Musk.
To view full transcript, click "expand" to read:
CNN This Morning
February 24, 2025
6:56 AM[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: CIA ASSESSING POTENTIAL DAMAGE FROM UNCLASSIFIED STAFFING EMAIL]
(...)
KAYLA TAUSCHE: I mean, is this a- a one-time oversight, or is this something that you think is- is of- of higher concern?
AXIOS NATIONAL POLITICAL REPORTER ALEX THOMPSON: Well, this is the difference between going in and rebuilding Twitter and the federal government, in that there are- you know- bigger potential- consequences, when you are going in and trying to just- you know- fire people sort of willy nilly and then trying to rehire them.
And that's why you've seen- you know, this is- this is a part of- many- little mistakes, that could have huge consequences- that- this first month. You're talking about- you know- stuff dealing with nuclear reactors and- and the FAA. And- you know, the hope is that there aren't,- you know- dire consequences to some of these changes, but that is the risk.
(...)
[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: SOURCE- TREASURY OFFICIAL WARNED GRANTING DOGE STAFF ACCESS TO PAYMENT SYSTEM COULD EXPOSE CIA PAYMENTS]
MEGHAN HAYS, FORMER BIDEN WHITE HOUSE DIRECTOR OF MESSAGE PLANNING: Yeah, I mean, to Alex's point, these mistakes have real world implications. It has implications not only to people's safety, but our- to our national security, whether it's- exposing them by name or whether it's exposing how they're getting paid.
That's- you know- one thing about the federal government, there is a paper trail on everything. We don't walk around in cash and just hand out cash willy nilly, like a lot of countries might do with their assets abroad. So we do have end system payments, and that is a huge problem.
And it's not just a problem that Elon Musk has access to it, it- no one knows who's working for Elon Musk. And all the reports say there's like a 19-year-old kid running around who doesn't have any understanding or any foresight of what the government actually does and what these things actually mean and the consequences.
TAUSCHE: Matt, the White House has said that Elon’s going to be his own ‘cop on the beat’, that he will disclose conflicts where needed and that they will be as transparent as they can. What grade would you give them on that mark so far?
MATT GORMAN, FORMER TIM SCOTT CAMPAIGN MANAGER: I think it remains to be seen, and I think what the- one of the other things I would- I would consider is the fact that even if they have that standard, they're not going to tell broadly that- the American people,[sic] I think they want to keep it in house and keep that in- internally. I would- I would assume that's where they're going with it.
And one of things other- also [sic] jumped out at me in- in CNN's reporting was the fact that the CIA was concerned that some of these people that would be layoffs or buyouts within the CIA, would be open to selling secrets to a foreign asset. That jumped out at me, the fact that they would- you know- this would cause- possibly- honestly, cause treasonous activity- um, on the part of some of these- layoffs.
I certainly hope that's not true. Um, but it's something to obviously guard against as well.
TAUSCHE: Alex. Final word.
THOMPSON: Uh. Stay tuned. I think we're at-
TAUSCHE: (Laughs)
Thompson: -I can tell you the Trump team is undeterred by any of this blowback. And we are- and they are just getting started.
TAUSCHE: And we know now about the- the- thousands of layoffs coming to the Pentagon, the fact that DOGE is now targeting nonessential workers beyond probationary employees. And so we'll see just exactly how far these cuts go.
Before I let my panel go, what are you watching this week?
THOMPSON: Uh, I am still watching DOGE because I- I think- you know- the fact that Trump said- Elon- over the weekend- Trump- keep going- or, sorry- Trump’s told Elon, ‘keep going’- ratcheted up- I- I think you’re going to see it-it- get even crazier.