Hillary Clinton spokesman Nick Merrill appeared to write something on his cell phone and then show it to MSNBC reporter Andrea Mitchell Wednesday night before she offered the Democrat a softball question.
After her final debate with Donald Trump, Clinton held a brief press conference on her campaign plane. At the beginning of the conference, Merrill wrote something quickly on his phone in the video, and then showed it to Mitchell who nodded. Mitchell, about a minute later, asked Clinton what she thought about being called a "nasty woman" and a "puppet" by her Republican rival.
"How did you feel when he said, 'nasty woman, nasty woman,' and 'you're a puppet?'" Mitchell asked. "And the issue of Vladimir Putin—"
Clinton said she paid it no attention.
"I was very concerned that even now, after 17 intelligence agencies in our government, both military and civilian, have confirmed that Russia has engaged in cyber attacks against Americans, that he refused to admit that it's true and condemn it for what it is, which is a blatant effort to try to interfere in our elections," she said.
According to the Daily Caller News Foundation, Mitchell denied she was fed a question.
Mitchell has offered boosts to Clinton and Democrats throughout the 2016 campaign. She said Thursday there was no evidence that Democratic National Committee chair Donna Brazile gave a question to the Clinton campaign in March, despite a leaked email showing Brazile doing so. She also reported in May that Juanita Broaddrick's rape claim against Bill Clinton was "discredited," an editorial remark that was later stealth-edited out of her NBC News report on the subject.