One of Don Lemon’s former colleagues at CNN is questioning whether he should be considered a journalist following his involvement in last Sunday’s protest at a Minnesota church.
Chris Cillizza, CNN’s former editor-at-large who worked with Lemon before both of them were separately dismissed, penned a piece on his Substack with the headline, “Is Don Lemon a Journalist?”
“Are the ‘Pod Save America’ guys journalists? I would say ‘no’ but I am not sure that is the majority view. Is what Ben Shapiro does journalism? Again, I would say ‘no’ — but I am not sure that’s the common take,” Cillizza wrote Thursday. “Don — and others like him that have grown up and found huge success in the independent creator world — are an even tougher call for me.”
Cillizza, who notes that he and Lemon weren’t close friends at CNN but were “certainly cordial,” stressed that he doesn’t think Lemon should not be charged for his actions at the church. However, he did concede that Lemon has a “VERY clear lean to his work,” citing Lemon’s own Substack headlines like “Donald Trump Is An International JOKE,” “Watch Donald Trump Unravel On Live TV,” and “Donald Trump Embarrasses America at World Summit!”
“He is a partisan. Who also does things that journalists do — interview people, etc. Does that make him a journalist? Is the term ‘partisan journalist’ an oxymoron?” Cillizza asked. “I struggle with that. Truly. Because I DO believe journalism is experiencing a profound series of changes. Who people want information from, how they want to consume that information and where they get it is changing rapidly.”
“At the same time, do Don and I belong in the same basket? Or me and Ben Shapiro? Or me and ‘The Gateway Pundit’?” he continued.
The former CNN commentator went on to say he’s no “final arbiter” of who should be considered a journalist but insists it’s a critical question given the rise of independent media.
“Is the information/analysis/reporting offered up by anyone calling themselves a journalist to be treated equally? Or is there some way to differentiate between activism masquerading as journalism, partisan journalism and just plain old journalism?” Cillizza wrote. “I truly don’t know the answer to these questions. But I think we need to find answers to them as we navigate the decline and fall of the age of mainstream media and the rise of whatever we are currently building to replace it.”
Lemon did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
The Justice Department has signaled it was targeting Lemon among the protesters who stormed into St. Paul’s Cities Church because of suspicions that its pastor had collaborated with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Lemon, however, remained defiant after a federal magistrate judge rejected the DOJ’s charges against him, though the DOJ may still bring charges through other avenues.
“I stand proud, and I stand tall,” Lemon said on his YouTube show Thursday night. “This is not a victory lap for me, because it’s not over. They’re going to try again, and they’re going to try again. And guess what? Here I am. Keep trying.”
“That’s not going to stop me from being a journalist. You’re not going to diminish my voice. Go ahead. Make me into the new Jimmy Kimmel if you want,” Lemon told the DOJ. “Just do it! Because I’m not going anywhere.”
Lemon has repeatedly referredto himself as a journalist, which he argues gives him First Amendment protections to cover the unrest that unfolded.
He insisted he has “no affiliation to that organization” and “didn’t even know they were going to this church until we followed them there,” although video he posted on YouTube suggested he had been at least somewhat aware of the agitators’ plan.
According to the livestream, Lemon entered the churchbefore the agitators arrived. He went on to document the hostile invasion of the church.
“The magistrate’s reported actions confirm the nature of Don’s First Amendment-protected work this weekend in Minnesota as a reporter. It was no different than what he has done for more than 30 years, reporting and covering newsworthy events on the ground and engaging in constitutionally protected activity as a journalist. Should the Department of Justice continue with a stunning and troubling effort to silence and punish a journalist for doing his job, Don will call out their latest attack on the rule of law and fight any charges vigorously and thoroughly in court,” Abbe Lowell, an attorney for Lemon who also represented Hunter Biden, told Fox News Digital.
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