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REPORT: Jake Tapper Gets Major Warning From Network Brass About ‘Pre-Judging’ Trump

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The long-simmering war between President Donald Trump and CNN entered a new phase this week when a top network executive reportedly warned anchor Jake Tapper about “pre-judging” Trump and putting their team in legal jeopardy once again.

Tapper, fresh off losing a defamation lawsuit brought by Navy veteran Zachary Young, was effectively singled out in a Sunday editorial call led by CNN CEO Mark Thompson. There, Thompson told journalists that “pre-judging Trump” on the basis of his past criminal conviction, other cases, or pre-inaugural statements and actions would be a disservice to their institution — and viewers.

Going forward, said the network honcho, CNN’s coverage should not aim to “relitigate the past” and should instead focus on what Trump has done in three days since taking office, including the signing of over 100 executive orders stripping birthright citizenship, empowering a host of federal agents to arrest illegal immigrants, and shuttering diversity, equity, and inclusion departments across the federal government.

Tapper was joined by fellow anchor Anderson Cooper, who has extensively covered President Trump’s J6 investigation and criminal trials and has not hesitated to editorialize about them on-air.

During the Republican’s first term, CNN effectively positioned itself as an adversary to his administration, sending Jim Acosta to White House press briefings to engage in heated back-and-forths with the president’s spokespersons. Former CEO Jeff Zucker gave Tapper, Cooper, and other on-air talents permission to begin calling some of Trump’s statements “lies” during their coverage.

In contrast, Thompson told his senior team he will have none of that this time around. According to those familiar with how the call went, no one spoke up after he was done, a sign the message was received, the Daily Beast reports. When Tapper covered the president on Inauguration Day, his tone was uncharacteristically muted.

“[Thompson] does not want them endlessly poking the eye of the sitting president and believes that Trump should be shown some deference,“ Status reporter Olivia Darcy wrote. ”And he has made it clear that he wants the MAGA movement to have a seat at the table when discussing political topics… even if certain pundits do use the platform to make incendiary and sometimes false claims.”

Not content with their performance on Trump’s big day, Thompson held a meeting the following day, reminding Tapper and others that they could be “fair-minded” without being “tough-minded.”

Sharp declines in CNN’s ratings have forced Thompson to lay off more than 100 staffers and slash the salaries of top talents such as Tapper and Cooper. In his previous guidance, the former New York Times president has stated that daily news coverage can no longer “define” how the network sees itself, and he has promised to incorporate more “lifestyle” coverage at a time when Americans are increasingly tuning out the mainstream media.

Thompson feels constant tension with the newsroom as he seeks to reorient the formerly anti-Trump network. Even when CNN succeeded last year by hosting town halls with Trump, the moves prompted grumbling among its reporters and media personalities who blamed network executives for amplifying so-called falsehoods.