'Pure fiction': CNN shamed for 'fake news' story about a Vance-hosted Epstein strategy session

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and CIA Director John Ratcliffe provided damning insights last month into the apparent role that the liberal media played in perpetuating the Russian collusion hoax on the American people.

The revelations do not appear to have chastened the outlets that vigorously pushed the false narrative for years.

For example, when confronted with the newly declassified Durham annex — which detailed credible intelligence indicating that the Clinton campaign manufactured the Russian collusion hoax, seeded its talking points to the media, and ultimately furnished the FBI with a pretext to hound her opponent — the New York Times spun the declassified report as a distraction from the Epstein files; misled readers about its key findings; and downplayed its significance.

The article has neither aged well nor stood up to scrutiny.

Whereas the Times recently tried to gaslight about an old hoax, CNN — which has not covered the Durham annex — set to work this week on a new story that turned out to be a hoax.

On Tuesday, CNN published a piece titled "Top Trump officials will discuss Epstein strategy in Wednesday meeting at Vice President JD Vance's residence." The article has neither aged well nor stood up to scrutiny.

CNN claimed in the initial version that Vance, White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, Attorney General Pam Bondi, FBI Director Kash Patel, and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche were expected to meet at the vice president's residence to discuss "the administration's handling of the Epstein case, as well as the need to craft a unified response."

RELATED: From Obama to CNN: How the liberal media helped facilitate the 'treasonous conspiracy' about Russian collusion

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Citing two anonymous sources, the liberal publication further claimed that "the White House considers those officials the leaders of the Trump administration's ongoing strategy regarding the Epstein files."

CNN has since edited its article to note that Vance is not actually among those whom the White House supposedly considers leaders of the admin's ongoing Epstein strategy.

'Any reporting to the contrary is false.'

"The CNN story is pure fiction," William Martin, communications director to the vice president, said in a statement obtained by Blaze News. "There was never a supposed meeting scheduled at the vice president’s residence to discuss Epstein strategy."

When pressed for comment, the White House referred Blaze News to Martin's statement.

Alayna Treene, the CNN White House reporter on the apparently fake story, began to backpedal on Wednesday, noting first that "administration officials familiar with the meeting said the dinner was now in flux, given its intense coverage, & it was unclear whether it would ultimately be called off, moved to another location or rescheduled."

An hour later, Treene shared the following comment from Martin: "As we've said publicly, there was never a supposed meeting scheduled at the vice president’s residence to discuss Epstein strategy. Any reporting to the contrary is false."

RELATED: House Republicans subpoena Clintons, ex-DOJ officials in Epstein probe

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The story continued to unravel, now at an accelerated pace.

Citing her anonymous sources once again, Treene indicated on X that the dinner might not be happening, but if it were, it might be happening elsewhere and would not actually be an Epstein strategy session.

"Despite talks of canceling the dinner, two officials said it could still take place, though the location may change," wrote Treene. "They argued the focus of the meeting would likely be broader than solely discussing the administration’s handling of the Epstein case."

'I saw that reported today, and it's completely fake news.'

CNN then rushed out a follow-up piece incorporating Treene's narrative revisions — an article the liberal network also ended up having to alter.

The follow-up article, first titled "Vance dinner seen as potential way to clear the air between Bondi and Patel on Epstein scandal" and now appearing on the CNN website as "Planned dinner for Trump officials to discuss Epstein appears to have been moved amid media scrutiny," states as a fact that the dinner was planned for Wednesday night at Vance's residence and "was seen as an opportunity for Trump administration officials to realign amid the ongoing Jeffrey Epstein scandal."

Whereas previously CNN sold the supposed dinner as an Epstein strategy session, now the publication suggested it was an opportunity for Vance "to reprise his peacemaker role" and smooth things over between Bondi, Bongino, and Patel, who apparently had a falling out following the Justice Department's conclusion that child sex-trafficker Jeffrey Epstein did not have a client list that could implicate deep-pocketed elites.

"It’s a way to get everyone together in an informal, low-stakes situation," an unnamed source told CNN.

Fielding a question about the supposed gathering posed to President Donald Trump on Wednesday, Vance said, "I saw that reported today, and it's completely fake news. We're not meeting to talk about the Epstein situation, and I think the reporter who reported it needs to get better sources."

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