CBS staffers are reportedly tuning in to Norah O’Donnell for her tweet insisting the FBI didn’t take Donald Trump’s passport as her ratings plummet.
On Monday, O’Donnell tweeted that a “DOJ official” had told her that the FBI was “not in possession” of Trump’s three passports, contradicting the former president’s claims that three of his passports were confiscated during the Mar- a-Lago were stolen.
Angry CBS sources told the New York Post that the host allegedly violated the outlet’s strict “two-source” protocol when she tweeted the allegation.
“She’s desperate,” a staffer said of O’Donnell, whose show falls further behind ABC’s David Muir and NBC’s Lester Holt.
“It does not look good. If you want to attack the POTUS and call him a liar, you shouldn’t tweet that thing.’
Several CBS employees said they were upset by host Norah O’Donnell’s tweet, which insisted the FBI had not taken Donald Trump’s passports, it emerged
Employees allege that O’Donnell violated the outlet’s strict “two-source” policy and was distraught when she tweeted amid a further decline in ratings to ABC and NBC
The former president blasted the FBI’s raid on Mar-a-Lago, which he was monitoring from New York, and announced they had taken three passports from him
On Tuesday, Trump said the DOJ and FBI had returned his travel documents
Earlier Tuesday, it was reported that Trump’s passports were being returned to him following the former president’s criticism of the raid.
“The DOJ and FBI just returned my passports. Many Thanks!’ Trump posted on Truth Social. “Unfortunately, when they raided my home, Mar-a-Lago, 8 days ago, they just opened their arms and grabbed everything in sight, like a common criminal would. This shouldn’t be happening in America!’
Despite O’Donnell’s sloppy reporting, CBS defended the star host, claiming that the passports were not in the possession of the FBI when she made her request.
In a statement, a CBS official said: “Donald Trump publicly claimed that his passports were ‘stolen’ and in the hands of the FBI.
“As part of the normal reporting process, our reporters asked the DOJ if they had Donald Trump’s passports. They replied that this was not the case.
“Our coverage reflected this; it was true then and it is true now that the FBI did not have his passports at the time. And as the tweet thread makes clear, any items not included in the warrant would be returned.
However, some employees labeled the entire incident “poor journalism” and said it made the outlet unprofessional.
“It’s embarrassing for CBS that the face of your network can’t even make a second call to a Justice Department representative,” a source said. “This is Journalism 101.”
The incident came as O’Donnell’s rating dropped even further in recent weeks. On June 20, O’Donnell ranked third in the ratings behind Holt and Muir.
O’Donnell totaled 4.7 million viewers, according to Nielsen ratings, behind Holt’s 6.5 million and Muir’s 7.9 million.
According to the latest Neilsen ratings, O’Donnell fell to 4.4 million and failed to close the gap to Holt, who is on vacation and has Tom Llamas filling in for him.
In total, FBI agents took 27 boxes of documents when they searched Mar-a-Lago last week, according to the federal order, but Trump’s passports were among them
The president complained about the seizure to Truth Social on Monday
Taylor Budowich shared the message from Jay Bratt of the National Security Division, in which he appeared to say that two expired passports and one active diplomatic passport were stolen
Trump returned 15 boxes of material to the National Archives in January, but then the Justice Department issued a subpoena for additional material in May — and officials went to Mar-a-Lago in June to pick it up.
At least one Trump attorney signed a document saying all material with classified markings had been returned.
The FBI affidavit to obtain the search warrant for the Mar-a-Lago raid may provide additional details about what investigators believed.
A federal judge who approved the warrant has now scheduled a hearing on whether to unseal the affidavit for Thursday.
It comes after Trump on Monday furiously demanded the immediate release of the “entirely undredacted” document.
The DOJ is expected to argue against the release of the affidavit after formally opposing its release in a court filing Monday.
It warned that the release of the affidavit is “likely to affect future cooperation” from witnesses while the probe into Trump’s handling of classified documents continues.
The timeline above shows just some of former President Donald’s struggles with the National Archives since leaving office, including an unrelated court battle with the Jan. 6 committee
However, the department offered to release less meaningful documents.
The former president said Monday it was “in the interests of transparency” to release the affidavit following the “horrific and shocking break-in” in Mar-a-Lago last week.
He also slammed the “very large number of armed FBI agents” who entered his home and, in his post on Truth Social, urged the judge who approved the search warrant to withdraw himself.
Meanwhile, Trump’s spokesman, Taylor Budowich, shared an email from a DOJ official in which he appeared to admit that the FBI confiscated his three passports when they searched the home.
Budowich shared the message from the National Security Division’s Jay Bratt, who appeared to say that two expired passports and one active diplomatic passport were seized in the FBI raid of Trump’s Florida home.
Trump furiously slammed the DOJ and FBI repeatedly Monday for “assaulting a political opponent” by taking them.
It’s all part of a continuation of Trump’s fight since he announced last Monday that his Palm Beach residence was raided by federal agents and 27 boxes of allegedly classified materials were seized.