Newly released emails show Politico Chief White House Correspondent Mike Allen promised to give only positive coverage if he could secure an interview with Chelsea Clinton while her mother was secretary of state.
Gawker obtained the emails of Hillary Clinton aide Philippe Reines and various reporters.
In one email dated January 10, 2013, Allen wrote Reines about interviewing Chelsea during a brunch to be hosted by Politico.
"This would be a way to send a message during inaugural week: No one besides me would ask her a question, and you and I would agree on them precisely in advance," Allen wrote. "This would be a relaxed conversation, and our innovative format (like a speedy Playbook Breakfast) always gets heavy social-media pickup."
Allen further promised that the interview would be "no-surprises" and that he would work with State on topics.
After appearing to get the OK, Allen later wrote, "I think this is something she would like: a way to send a message on a big weekend, but in a no-risk way, since they know I would stick to topics we agree on."
In the end, the interview never happened.
Gawker notes that Allen's pitch for a friendly interview is at odds with his public stance against such interviews. Allen and colleague Jim VandeHei once wrote a column titled
"Obama, the puppet master," in which they criticized the Obama administration for specializing in easy interviews.
Politico editor Susan Glasser told Gawker the publication has "a clear editorial policy of not providing questions to our guests in advance."
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