Wall Street Journal reporter Gina Chon has resigned from the paper following the revelation that she shared "unpublished news articles with" former National Security Council member Brett McGurk, who is currently nominated to be the next ambassador to Iraq.
Chon and McGurk carried on a clandestine, month-long relationship while the duo were stationed in Iraq in 2008, according to a series of lascivious emails that were recently leaked online and initially reported on by the Washington Free Beacon.
"Wall Street Journal reporter Gina Chon agreed to resign this afternoon after acknowledging that while based in Iraq she violated the Dow Jones Code of Conduct by sharing certain unpublished news articles with Brett McGurk, then a member of the U.S. National Security Council in Iraq," the paper said in a statement Tuesday afternoon.
"In 2008 Ms. Chon entered into a personal relationship with Mr. McGurk, which she failed to disclose to her editor," the statement said. "At this time the Journal has found no evidence that her coverage was tainted by her relationship with Mr. McGurk."
However, the Free Beacon reported this morning that Chon often quoted a high level American official when reporting on sensitive security negotiations between the U.S. and Iraqi governments, an issue that McGurk had insider information about.
The release of the emails have added to a growing list of concerns over McGurk's nomination.
The Journal added in its statement: "Ms. Chon joined the Journal in 2005 in Detroit, followed by an assignment as Iraq correspondent in Baghdad from 2007 to 2009. She also reported for the Journal from Haiti in 2010 in the aftermath of the earthquake and has served as a M&A reporter for Money & Investing in New York since April 2010."