Iconic news program "60 Minutes" allegedly used "planted" questions from the State Department in a 2011 interview with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, according to a newly released email from a State Department aide to Hillary Clinton. CBS quickly pushed back against the claim on Thursday.
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange speaks via webcast from the Ecuadorian embassy in London during an event on the sideline of the United Nations Human Rights Council session, March 23, 2015 in Geneva. (FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP/Getty Images)
"I just received confirmation from 60 Minutes that a piece on Julian Assange will air Sunday night," Philip Crowley, then-assistant secretary of state for public affairs, wrote to Clinton in 2011. "He will be the only person featured. We had made a number of suggestions for outside experts and former diplomats to interview to 'balance' the piece. 60 Minutes assures me that they raised a number of questions and concerns we planted with them during the course of the interview. We will be prepared to respond to the narrative Assange presents during the program."
"60 Minutes" spokesman Kevin Tedesco told CNN Money that Crowley's claim is "preposterous."
"The idea of a 'plant' is as preposterous as this email writer's attempt to get credit from his boss," Tedesco said. "We spoke to many sources for this story."
Image source: state.gov
The message was part of the latest batch of Clinton emails the State Department has released as part of the investigation into her use of a private server while she was secretary of state.
WikiLeaks is known for publishing classified documents. Assange — who has been granted political asylum and has been living in Ecuador's London embassy since 2012 — hasn't yet commented on the email. He faced extradition to Sweden to face sexual assault charges, which he has denied.
Edward Snowden, who leaked classified NSA documents in 2013, tweeted the following on Thursday: "New government doc states @60Minutes planted government questions to shape @Wikileaks interview. If true, sad to see."
New government doc states @60Minutes planted government questions to shape @Wikileaks interview. If true, sad to see. pic.twitter.com/IJxK8tlfr8
— Edward Snowden (@Snowden) October 1, 2015—
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