In May,
@OKeefeMedia published a story featuring an official who serves on the White House Domestic Policy Council.
After reviewing the matter closely, I reached out directly to the official,
@maximlott, to apologize. The story did not meet our standards for publication.
We did not do the work necessary to verify whether the statements presented in the story were accurate or complete. Additionally, we do not believe the central claim, that people below the President influence decision making, was, standing alone, sufficiently newsworthy or in the public interest to justify secretly recording the official.
Every serious news organization has a responsibility to distinguish between public interest reporting and gossip or voyeurism. In this instance, we fell short.
I regret the publication and I am taking steps internally to ensure this does not happen again.