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Three CNN journalists resign over retracted story about Trump’s Russia ties

Outside the CNN center in Atlanta in 2014.
(Kevin C. Cox / Getty Images)
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CNN said Monday that it has accepted the resignations of three employees involved in a retracted story about a supposed investigation into a pre-inaugural meeting between an associate of President Trump and the head of a Russian investment fund.

The story was posted Thursday on CNN’s website. It was retracted the next night, and CNN apologized to Anthony Scaramucci, the Trump transition team member named in the story.

CNN said the story didn’t meet its editorial standards. A network executive, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to discuss personnel issues, said Monday that story author Thomas Frank resigned. Also leaving were Eric Lichtblau, an assistant managing editor at the organization’s Washington bureau, and Lex Harris, head of the investigations unit.

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The story said Senate investigators are looking into a meeting between Anthony Scaramucci, a member of Trump’s transition team, and Kirill Dmitriev, whose Russian Direct Investment Fund guides investments by U.S. entities in Russia. Scaramucci, in the story, said he exchanged pleasantries in a restaurant with Dmitriev on January 16.

The report also said that two Democratic senators wanted to know whether Scaramucci had indicated in the meeting whether sanctions against Russia would be lifted, a decision that could impact the investment fund.

On Friday night, CNN removed the story from its website and disabled links. The story did not appear on any of CNN’s television networks.

The network hasn’t discussed precisely what led to the retraction.

CNN has had a tense relationship with the president, who has called the network “fake news” and not granted it any interviews.

For his part, Scaramucci tweeted that CNN “did the right thing. Classy move. Apology accepted. Everyone makes mistakes. Moving on.”

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