Politico: CBS Benghazi “Review” Is An Inside Job

Politico media reporter Dylan Byers reports that Al Ortiz, an executive producer at CBS News, will be “conducting the 'journalistic review' into the controversial '60 Minutes' report on Benghazi.” As Byers notes, this presents a problem for Ortiz and a potential conflict of interest for CBS News, as the executive producer of 60 Minutes, Jeff Fager, is also the chairman of CBS News and Ortiz's boss.

From Politico:

Fager is also the person who, initially, decided that no investigation would take place. Though CBS says the review has been underway since they first learned of “the issue,” a spokesman told the New York Times last Sunday that Lara Logan's televised apology would be the network's last word on the matter. "[T]he CBS News chairman, Jeff Fager, who is also the executive producer of “60 Minutes,” has not ordered an investigation," the Times reported at the time.

Media Matters has previously addressed the problems with having a CBS News employee conduct the review. There were a number of problems with the report -- most notably the credibility of Benghazi “eyewitness” Dylan Davies -- all of which deserve intense scrutiny. Fager's dual role within the network invariably raises questions about the credibility and the independence of an internal review process.