ALARMING

Rosenstein: Don’t Trust News Stories With Anonymous Sources

Warning comes after report says Trump is under investigation.

The Justice Department issued a statement late Thursday urging Americans not to trust news stories that rely on anonymous sources, a day after The Washington Post reported President Trump was under investigation for possible obstruction of justice as part of the probe into his campaign’s ties to Russia. “Americans should exercise caution before accepting as true any stories attributed to anonymous ‘officials,’ particularly when they do not identify the country—let alone the branch or agency of government—with which the alleged sources supposedly are affiliated,” Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein wrote in the statement. “Americans should be skeptical about anonymous allegations,” he said, adding that the Justice Department’s policy is to “neither confirm or deny such allegations.” The statement didn’t clarify if any current news stories in particular had prompted the warning, or if it was general advice for future reports.