A Hillary Clinton-linked super PAC is pushing opposition research to the media against Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) but does not want its fingerprints on the information, according to a reporter in Vermont who said her news outlet was contacted by the group.
Emilie Teresa Stigliani, a staff writer at the Burlington Free Press, recently wrote about how the media organization was contacted by Correct the Record, a David Brock-run super PAC with close ties to the Clinton campaign, trying to "flag" stories against Sanders.
Stigliani said that Daniel Wessel, a press secretary for the group, contacted the outlet by both email and phone offering "off-the-record" story pitches.
"The Free Press first attempted to contact Correct the Record officials while writing about the super PAC paying for a poll that named Clinton winner of the Nov. 14 Democratic debate in Des Moines, Iowa," Stigliani wrote.
"While the organization did not respond to the initial request for comment, Wessel emailed the Free Press in early January to point out that Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy ‘hit Bernie on guns today.’"
Wessel then offered to send further information on Sanders if they were interested. When asked why he was offering off-the-record tips, Wessel asked to speak over the phone.
The Free Press declined to take off-the-record tips.
"Wessel said that his organization prefers to be named only when speaking about Republican candidates. He offered to have his organization named in certain cases if the Free Press requested permission. The Free Press declined to agree to Wessel's terms," Stigliani writes.
Hillary for America paid Correct the Record $281,961 for research purposes last year, according to FEC documents.
The group did not return a request for comment.